Running on Nothing
by Musa Silver-Hawk
Summary: A Hetalia fic with a dramatic twist. I don't own the anime but I own the characters in this fic. You will soon see why. All I can say is this; if you don't like the way things are don't read it. Rating has been changed for intense sex scenes!
1. Prologue

**Running on Nothing**

**By**

**Chae Sun-Hee**

Prologue

She cried. How could he do something like that to her? She was younger than him by quite a few years and yet – how dare he! She was furious, scared and mentally wounded. She ran from the building with her tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't care if she was up next; she needed to get out of there and quickly. She found her uncle and grabbed him as she ran.

"Erzsébet," he said quite out of breath as she continued to run. They were now at least four miles from their previous location and his niece had not stopped running. For an eight-year-old she was incredibly fit. She only slowed down when she came to the bus stop. She collapsed on the bench in a depressed silence. She couldn't believe him! Why? They were friends! He was in high school and she was in secondary school! All she wanted to do was have a good fight and win trophies; he knew that too so then… why? Was he really just like all the other men that she had encountered? They saw a strong girl who could stand up for herself and wanted to take her as their prize.

Without thinking, she kicked her uncle in the shin. She hung her head and continued to stay in silence.

"Erzsébet," her uncle repeated. "The bus is here. Tell me what happened and I will take care of whomever it was that caused my nephew to sob so uncontrollably." She gave her uncle a grave look and nodded.

The next day, her offender found himself in the hospital with countless fractures and broken limbs. She smiled a terrifyingly sad smile as she sent a silent prayer out into the night.

_God, hear my words. Please, never let him cross my path in the world of the living again. If I see him once and he gets in my way, I swear, I will kill my self._

()()()

She sat on the balcony onside her bedroom and gazed up at the stars overhead. The summer's breeze brought the sweet smell of flowers to her nose and the chirping of birds to her ears. What a difference three years had made, she was beginning to get back on her feet after that incident. She was still hesitant to trust but she was beginning to smile again.

_Vetya,_ his voice wafted into her mind. _Vetya, I love you. Come to me._ She shook her head. Why was she hearing his voice now: of all the times to hear it, why now? She stood up and walked over to the railing of her balcony and leaned against it.

"Vetya, I see you." She jumped back. No way. She looked down. How on earth had he gotten into the garden? "Vetya, climb down to me. Climb down, or I will climb up." He could very well climb up. There was an ivy vine that scaled the wall next to her balcony. She backed away into her bedroom and closed the door to the balcony as she did so. How did he find her? They had moved to a completely different country after all!

She saw him standing on her balcony. Oh! Why hadn't she locked the door? She noticed that he walked with limp. She grinned through her fear. At least her uncle had kept his word.

He entered her room and her vision went black.

()()()

She stood in the window with her arms held out to her sides, palms facing up. Without looking behind her to see the distance that greeted her, she closed her eyes and leaned back and fell. The only witnesses to her actions were the moon, the stars and a stranger who watched her fall. He stood only a few feet away from where he thought she would hit the ground but, as he looked up, she was falling right above him.

()()()

She opened her eyes. Was she dead? That had been her intent: to kill herself. Had she succeeded? The world didn't look any different. It was still the same starry sky that she had viewed before falling from the window. She sat up. The ground underneath her was nice and comfortable. She ran a hand up and down the thing that she was sitting on.

"Mnn," She looked down to see why the ground was so comfortable. She had landed on top of a stranger. It was a man, to be exact: a man who looked to be in his early to mid twenties. He had a nice face: handsome-but not rugged, and beautiful-but not a pretty boy. So he was the reason why her suicide attempt failed. Dang! She got off the man and helped him to his feet after he regained consciousness. Standing up, she realized that the man was a good ten inches taller than her. The two of them spent a good long while just staring at each other. Sapphire eyes bore into hazel ones. Then, the girl bowed her head and ran back home. She would have to kill herself another day.


	2. 1 An Empty Tank

Chapter 1

An Empty Tank

Elizaveta woke up feeling very bitter. As she recalled it had been a week since she had attempted to kill herself. She glanced at the calendar on the opposite wall. Winter break was over and school was starting up again today. She sighed as she rolled out of bed and trudged down the hall to take a shower. In the hall, she could hear the angry voices of her parents in the kitchen. Her older sister had stayed out at "a friend's" house again and her twin brother just made matters all that much worse. Despite having good grades, Elizaveta felt as though she had no meaning in life. No one loved her and she didn't love anyone. At school, no one bothered to talk to her although she had tried at the beginning of the school year. Elizaveta checked her appearance over in the mirror before slinging her backpack over her shoulder and heading down stairs to grab her lunch box from the fridge and a granola bar from the counter.

On the bus, no one talked to Elizaveta and she made no point to start a conversation. She just sat at the back of the bus and watched the landscape go zipping bye through the window. Elizaveta opened the window a crack and let the wind rush in. Even though it was January, it was soothing to feel the crisp winter air on her neck. Elizaveta felt a tug on her caramel brown hair. She turned her head and her hair was tugged again. She cringed. How much hair had been caught and where? She thought about calling for help then decided not to. Who would hear her? Elizaveta traced her hair with her hands to try and get it freed when her hands met someone else's. In less than a minute her hair had been freed from its prison. When Elizaveta turned her head to thank the person who had helped her she couldn't find anyone. Elizaveta didn't really care though. Her hair was free and that was all that mattered.

Off the bus, Elizaveta made her way silently to her classroom. The old homeroom teacher had retired at the beginning of the break and they were expecting a new one today. Elizaveta took her seat at the front of the classroom. She had originally had a seat at the back of the classroom but the teacher had a habit of rearranging the student seating every month. So, here she sat at the front of the room waiting for the new teacher to come in and introduce him or herself. Before the bell rang, the rest of the students filed into the room. The seconds ticked by as they waited for the new teacher. When the door slid open yet again, everyone in the room watched as a tall young man entered. He closed the door behind him and walked to the front of the room to face the class. He quickly wrote his name on the blackboard behind him and introduced himself.

"My name is Roderich Héderváry. It is a pleasure to meet you all. Now, if you would please introduce yourselves; that would be wonderful." Elizaveta's mind went blank as she gazed at the man seated behind the teacher's desk. She could be mistaken but, he had the same eyes that the man she fell on had had. She shook her head. No, that couldn't be the case. Could it? Elizaveta was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that it was her turn to introduce herself until someone prodded her in the arm with their pencil. She stood up and apologized.

"My name is Elizaveta Lietuva." She sat back down. Roderich smiled stiffly and started talking about his teaching methods and what he expected the students to accomplish in a said amount of time and so on and so forth. Elizaveta shut everything else from her mind and wandered aimlessly through the morning taking notes on different subjects and speaking as little as possible. So far, it was the typical day for her. No talking, no interactions of any kind, and no embarrassing or awkward moments. When the bell rang for lunch she went quietly in and started eating the food she had prepared for herself the night before.

"Ms. Lietuva." Elizaveta looked up. She always ate alone. Mr. Héderváry sat down in front of her and placed his lunch on the table. "Why aren't you interacting with the rest of the students?" he asked sounding mildly concerned. Elizaveta shrugged her shoulders and continued eating. "Do you not feel comfortable conversing with others?" again, Elizaveta shrugged her shoulders. "Won't you please give me a proper response?" Mr. Héderváry asked this time sounding mildly annoyed. Elizaveta looked at him with loathing written across her face.

"If you didn't remind me of the man who foiled my suicide act a week ago then maybe I might." Her lip curled in disgust as she took her lunch to another table. Man, everyone in this world drove her insane! Why couldn't people just see that all she needed was a kind soul to talk to and be friends with? Just one person; that was all she asked. She didn't feel comfortable talking to teachers. They never paid attention to her when she spoke to them about her worries and they always gave her meaningless advice on stupid things.

Elizaveta looked up from her sandwich and saw that a boy her own age had taken the seat in front of her. The boy didn't talk to her nor did she talk to him. Over the next few days he continued to eat with her in silence. Also, Mr. Héderváry made a point to talk to her whenever there was nothing going on. Elizaveta smiled to herself when she was at home in her room by herself. Her teacher was weird to say the least, the boy at lunch didn't bother her but he too, was weird, but the weirdest part of it all was that she really didn't mind. Mr. Héderváry never asked any more questions and only commented on the behaviour of the students and the gossip of the other teachers. To say the least, after two weeks, Elizaveta's school life had improved slightly. At home however, things only got worse. Her father finally took off and her mother stormed away as well saying that her life had been screwed over since the day she had kids. Natalia, Elizaveta's older sister, decided to take care of them in place of their irresponsible parents. Natalia had been successful in school and in life in general so she had a lot of friends who would help her out. As irresponsible as Natalia was in her love affairs, she was equally responsible as a working adult and Elizaveta admired her for it. Natalia got a part time job at the local convenience store while Toris, Elizaveta's twin, did nothing.

In her room, Elizaveta took out her notepad and wrote a poem about her wounded heart. She would hand it in as her homework for homeroom. The assignment was to write a short piece about the way one feels toward the world. Here is what she wrote:

"To love is to suffer

Caring only brings heartache

Kindness brings misery

Telling the truth is read as telling lies.

A broken heart does not mend

Your eyes are shrouded in darkness

Your soul knows only blackness

Love is lost to you

All is in despair."

Quite satisfied with her work; Elizaveta climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

()()()

As Elizaveta sat in the classroom waiting for Mr. Héderváry to enter another man entered instead. He looked just like Mr. Héderváry in every way except for the eyes; hazel eyes. The class looked at him expectantly. He only smirked and leaned forward on the desk.

"My name is Matthew Héderváry. I am the older brother of Roderich Héderváry. Where Roddy-kins is 22; I am 24. Roddy needed a sub due to the fact that he caught a cold; asked me to fill in for the day. I know none of your names but I know only one face." Matthew proceeded with asking everyone's name. Toris went before Elizaveta.

"My name is Toris Lietuva and the girl in front of me is my sister Eli…" Matthew cut him off.

"She has a mouth doesn't she? Let her introduce herself." Toris looked as though he had been smacked in the face but sat down and let his sis introduce herself.

"My name is Elizaveta Lietuva." She said simply and sat back down. Matthew smiled and checked something on his desk. He looked bored out of his mind.

"Let's make things interesting. Roody-poo had everyone write about how they feel towards life right?" a murmur of 'yeah' rippled through the room. "Give them to me. I will shuffle them up and pass them out. If you get your own piece raise your hand and I will give you a new one. Once everyone has a piece that is not theirs, I will call on you in turn and you will read the piece that the other person wrote. No complaining!" Matthew sat back down and everyone filed up to give him his or her homework. When he had all the papers in his possession he sifted through them mixing them up as promised. One student had written two pieces.

Matthew took a look at the layout of the room and shook his head. He slipped Elizaveta's poem onto the desk and began passing them out. Everyone got a paper that wasn't his or hers. Poem after poem, story after story they read. The poem that Elizaveta had been given went like this:

"On sandy beaches I sit,

my legs buried deep within the cold crushed stones.

My hair getting lighter in the sun

Oh, the joy of life! Oh what fun!"

Elizaveta thought the poem a bit too optimistic but she didn't say anything. At last, when all the students had read the piece that they were presented with; Matthew stood up and told them that he would read the piece he had given himself. Elizaveta moaned. She knew it was hers and she didn't want anyone to hear it. It didn't matter though. They heard it anyway. Matthew read her poem with such passion and remorse in his voice that it almost seemed as though he were reading someone else's poem not hers.

For the rest of the day Elizaveta went through life as she had and during lunch, she ate in silence with the boy again. Matthew didn't bother to talk to her at all; he just seemed to watch her. When the bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the school day (it was a half day) Elizaveta walked with Toris to the bus stop. Unfortunately she wasn't able to make it all the way without being intercepted. Matthew had pulled up in front of them on his motorcycle.

"If you're trying to impress me it isn't working." Elizaveta said walking around the bike with Toris. Matthew grabbed her arm.

"If you try to kill yourself again who's going to be the cushion you land on?" he asked. To Toris he said; "you don't mind if I kidnap your sister for a few hours do you?" Toris glowered at the man. Elizaveta had not expected this reaction from her brother at all.

"If you harm one hair on her head you will be dead before you can utter a single incoherent sound." Matthew looked thoughtful for a moment then chuckled.

"So, I can take her with me?" Toris just scowled but said nothing as he walked off. Elizaveta climbed timidly onto the back of the bike and placed her hands on Matthew's shoulders. Matthew sped away causing Elizaveta to jump slightly. To keep herself from flying off the bike she wrapped her arms tightly about Matthew's waist. She blushed as she realized that she could feel his well-toned abs through his jacket. As they sped on, Elizaveta relaxed her grip on Matthew's waist and leaned back so that her caramel brown hair flowed gently behind her. Matthew soon pulled into the lot of a concert hall. Elizaveta looked around confusedly; a concert hall? Matthew hopped off the bike and told her to wait a bit. She stayed put and watched as Matthew conversed with a short, blonde, female, a menacing, tall, sandy-blonde male in thin rectangular glasses and another tall man; this man had dark brown hair, tanned skin, a small lining of stubble across his chin, a little double hair curl at the base of his neck, and a white mask covering the left side of his face. His mouth twisted into a maniacal smirk as he craned his head to stare at Elizaveta. Matthew turned and beckoned for her to approach the small group.

"Elizaveta, I would like you to meet a few members of my theater group." he motioned to the two blondes. "These lovely people are Miss Tino and Mr. Berwald Suu. I met them in a pub when I was drunk off my ass." Tino smiled shyly and held out her hand. Elizaveta shook it hesitantly. Tino elbowed Berwald sharply in the side before he stuck out his own hand for Elizaveta to shake.

"N'ce to meet'cha." he said cracking a small smile. The smile broke the menacing image that Elizaveta had of him before. Matthew continued with the introductions as he gestured to the masked man.

"This is Sadiq el Ashry, he came here from Turkey. I met him when HE was drunk off HIS ass." Sadiq punched Matthew playfully in the arm.

"Matt, not all the people in this group wound up here because you or the other party was drunk." Sadiq smiled from behind the mask. "Welcome to the family Lizzie, we needed more girls to join." Elizaveta raised an eyebrow at the nickname. Sadiq was about to respond to her puzzled expression when she felt something rub itself against her legs and start purring. Elizaveta turned around to find a man that resembled Sadiq, excluding the mask and the stubble and his double hair curl was at the top of his head instead of on his neck. He was carrying a cat in his arms, another cat perched on his shoulder, a kitten sitting atop his head and three other cats traipsing about his feet. Sadiq cocked an eyebrow as the man drew nearer.

"I said GIRLS Hera, not GUYS!" the newcomer flipped Sadiq the finger.

"Shut it you spazz! If I had known you'd be here today I would have avoided coming but, seeing as a cute little Asian boy convinced me to come I thought, for his sake, that I would." That was when Elizaveta noticed an Asian man walking behind "Hera". The look on Sadiq's face went from playful to murderous as he too saw the man behind "Hera". The man looked from "Hera" to Sadiq. He smiled at Sadiq and ran to him instantly mowing him over. The small man sat up on Sadiq's chest and looked to "Hera".

"Thank you Heracles-San." he said before kissing Sadiq lightly on the lips and getting off. Heracles nodded.

"Sure thing Kiku," Then he mumbled under his breath, "You sleep with me once and yet you go back to him whom you HAVEN'T slept with and only rely on me for transportation!" Elizaveta was even more confused now.

"Kiku and Sadiq have been together for quite a few years now." Matthew explained." Before they got together officially however, Kiku slept with Heracles for a night. In the end Kiku ended up going out with Sadiq. Heracles hates this because he himself is in love with Kiku and seriously hates Sadiq's guts. F. Y. I. Heracles Girisha is from Greece and Kiku Hon is from Japan." Elizaveta nodded although she didn't really understand.

In the building, Elizaveta watched as Matthew brought other members from the group to meet her. She was introduced to Italian brothers Feliciano and Lovino Fiore. Whereas Feliciano was outspoken and somewhat rude; Lovino was sweet, polite, kind and a bit of a ditz.

"Feli! Lovi!" A girl with neck length blonde hair came running up to them holding out a frilly green and white dress and a matching suit. She noticed Elizaveta and smiled. "Hi! It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Feliks Finn. I'm in charge of costumes and stage design so come to me if you have any questions regarding either or, okay?" Elizaveta nodded a bit stunned at this girl's stiff and mature attitude. Feliks smirked at Feliciano. "If you don't come with me right now, then you will get stuffed into the dress!" She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him off with Lovino skipping pleasantly after them; humming. As she looked around the vast auditorium, Elizaveta realized that there were seven guys and only two girls in the group... or so she thought. The door to the theater burst open and three blonde men entered. One was tall, had wavy shoulder length hair and an air of supremacy about him, the man to his left was slightly shorter with carefully spiked hair, sexy green eyes, three earrings running the length of his left ear and five up his right ear; the earring on his earlobe connected to a lip ring via a thin, silver, chain. The third man was shorter than the first but taller than the second. He was more reserved than the other two and he too, and had blue eyes rimmed by thin oval glasses. Elizaveta couldn't see properly from where she was standing but, it looked as though the tall blonde did something to seriously piss off the shorter blonde.

"What the bloody hell was that for you git?" The tall blonde tsked.

"Non, non, Mon Cher," he said in a flirtatious manner. "I just grabbed your derrière." The punk glared at the Frenchman before storming off calling for Feliks. Elizaveta heard someone sigh beside her. Turning her head slightly Elizaveta saw Tino standing next to her looking like a schoolgirl watching a good friend work through love issues.

"Those two never change. Arthur still seems to think that Francis is a hopeless flirt and isn't serious about anything." Tino seemed to be talking almost to herself. Elizaveta took in Tino's appearance fully. She was short but thin and she came up to Elizaveta's shoulder. She had big innocent purple eyes and a playful mouth and she seemed to like the colour blue. "I'm sorry dear," she said to Elizaveta. "Did you need something?"

"Well, now that you mention it, yes." Tino looked up at Elizaveta expectantly. "Pardon me for being rude but, you don't look like you're out of high school yet." Tino smiled cheerfully and clapped her hands.

"That's because I'm not! Berwald and I got married half way through my sophomore year. I am, right now, in my junior year!" Elizaveta had not asked if Tino and Berwald were married; only if Tino was still in high school. Tino kept talking. "Of course, Berwald is my art teacher so we had to promise the principle to keep our marriage a secret. It's so much fun being a 'little house wife!'" Elizaveta walked away but Tino kept running her mouth. Wandering around the theater Elizaveta caught Heracles swinging a long wooden cross in the direction of Sadiq who dodged the blow by a nanometer and struck back with his own weapon; a wooden sword. A closer look at the battle showed Elizaveta that Kiku was sitting wide eyed on a ladder that happened to be placed dangerously close to the two combatants. The crash of wood on wood echoed in the vast chamber and no one seemed to care in the least bit so Elizaveta kept walking and wandering. She climbed up onto the stage a bit weary as to not get impaled by either cross or sword as she continued her excavation.

Backstage Elizaveta found a hall of rooms. As she walked down the hallway she noticed that all the doors were labeled. The first several doors were the actor's personal changing rooms then the labels began to read things like "Feliks' Costume and Design Workshop", "Arthur's Music Studio", "Tino and Berwald's Dance Room" and so much more. Elizaveta peeked into "Feliks' Costume and Design Workshop" and saw Lovino twirling around in the dress that Feliks had been holding only minutes before. Feliciano on the other hand looked thoroughly disgruntled and was trying to tear the lace of his shirt cuffs. Elizaveta giggled and peeped into "Arthurs Music Studio". That was a sight to behold. He looked so in tune with his surroundings that it seemed natural. Elizaveta leaned on the door to see if she could hear anything. The door swung open a little and she tumbled in. Arthur paused what he was doing and looked up. Elizaveta looked frazzled and collapsed on weak knees.

"I-I-I-I'm so sorry!" she stammered. "I didn't realize that the door was slightly open!" Arthur smiled pleasantly.

"It's alright," he said sliding under his equipment and walking over to her. "Do you want some tea?" Elizaveta's face went blank for second. Tea? Had she heard him correctly? Did he just ask her if she wanted some tea? Arthur repeated the question. Yes, yes he had asked her if she wanted tea. At a loss for words, Elizaveta just nodded. Arthur crossed the room and opened a small chest that had been hidden from the window view.

"Do you want jasmine, green tea, earl grey, chamomile, mint tea, ginger tea… what?" still in a state of mild shock, Elizaveta mumbled that she would like jasmine tea. Really, this was all too weird. Elizaveta sighed as Arthur handed her a cup of tea. Before she could take a sip however, her cell phone rang.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Where are you? Toris came home looking like he had been castrated and told me that the substitute teacher took you off on a date! Come home right now and explain to me what is going on!" Natalia's voice was so loud that Elizaveta had to hold the phone away from her ear. Arthur smiled and plucked the phone from Elizaveta's hand.

"I am sorry, Matt didn't tell us that this young lady had to be home at a certain time. I am Arthur, Matthew's friend. I will bring her home right away." Elizaveta could hear her sister giggling on the other line. After getting the directions from Natalia, Arthur wrote a quick note to Matt stating where they were going and why, then he poured Elizaveta's tea into a to-go cup and led her out the back door. Elizaveta waited in the garage while Arthur went to get his vehicle. It was a motorcycle with the English flag emblazoned on it.

"You guys sure love motorbikes don't you?" Elizaveta asked under her breath as she climbed on behind Arthur; hugging his waist before he took off.

"I forgot to ask!" he shouted over the sound of the bike merging onto the main road. "What's your name?"

"Elizaveta Lietuva!" Elizaveta shouted in response.

"Right then, your new name will be Eli. No doubt Sadiq has already given you a nickname of his own, yeah?" "Eli" nodded against his back.

"He called me "Lizzie" before Hera and Kiku showed up!" Elizaveta felt the vibrations as Arthur chuckled slightly.

()()()

Elizaveta hopped off Arthur's bike as he walked her to the front door of her house. As if on cue, the front door swung open and Natalia stood in the doorway. Her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders in ringlets. Her face was a mask of fury and homicidal rage.

"Where the HELL have you been and WHY were you hanging out with men who are older than you?" she screeched ignoring Arthur who had clapped his hands over his ears to keep them from bleeding. She opened her mouth again but Elizaveta clamped a hand over it to let Arthur explain.

"We recruited her into our theater group." He said hurriedly. Natalia's face relaxed: somewhat. Arthur continued talking. "She doesn't have a set job yet so she will be helping out on set and with anything else that we need help with." Natalia smiled.

"Well then, I hope you won't mind it in the least bit if I pay a visit next time you all meet up. I need to confirm for myself if this environment is safe for my beloved sister." Natalia's sugar-sweet voice leaked poison from every word uttered from her lips. Arthur paled as he patted Elizaveta's shoulder and told Natalia that she was welcome anytime she felt like coming. He got on his bike and drove off at an inhuman speed; poor guy.


	3. 2 A Tank Half Empty or a Tank Half Full

Chapter 2

A Tank Half Empty or a Tank Half Full?

At school the next week Matt was subbing again. Apparently "Roddy-kins'" cold had come back ten times worse than before. All through homeroom, Elizaveta caught Matt staring and smiling at her. At lunch she found out why. Arthur was sitting at her usual table in the cafeteria looking the same as he had the last time she had seen him; though he wasn't wearing his lip ring and chain this time he still wore a small silver hoop. Sitting next to him on the table was Feliks. The both of them were sipping tea out of ginori teacups. Arthur smiled at her and beckoned for her to take a seat with them.

"We've been waiting for you Eli!" Feliks said practically pouring her tea on Arthur's head. Arthur removed the cup from Feliks's hand and placed it on the table.

"We spoke to the principal of the school and he gave the O.K. for us to kidnap you from here on out. All the cast and crew are there and the ones you haven't met are dying to meet you. Apparently Sadiq threw in a good word about you to the others." Arthur said getting up from the table. Elizaveta made to walk toward him when she felt a hand grip her shoulder. Toris had intervened.

"Elizaveta isn't going anywhere with you guys." He said stubbornly. Feliks attacked Toris up and down, side-to-side and front to back with her measuring tape. At last she stood up:

"He's coming with us!" she declared grabbing his arm and dragging him out of the school. Arthur packed up the teacups and walked out of the cafeteria with Elizaveta. On the road, Arthur explained that Feliks had stolen Sadiq's Ferrari and she didn't want to get caught. Sadiq had a Ferrari? Wow!

Sadiq was waiting for them in the parking lot holding a guilty looking Feliks by the collar of her shirt. He wore a little red fez on his head and his mask only made his menacing expression that much more terrifying. Toris was trying to help Feliks but was failing miserably. Sadiq raised his head when he heard the whir of Arthur's motorbike. Sadiq shook Feliks before dropping her on the gravel.

"I found a Polish weasel tryin' to get away with stealin' my car." He said confronting Arthur; his accent was as thick as gorilla glue. "Care to explain things?" Arthur raised his hands in surrender.

"I have no control on what Feliks does. All I ask is that you not kill her. I don't think Matt would like it if his wardrobe instructor was found dead in her workshop." Sadiq grunted disapprovingly and went inside. Everyone that Elizaveta had met a week before was there and greeted her as though they had known her their whole lives. Arthur took Elizaveta's hand in his as he dragged her to a circle of people. In this circle were two more Asians, a male and a female and two more blonde males; one was wearing oval rimmed glasses. How many blondes were in this group? Arthur cleared his throat and the quartet turned to look at him.

"Elizaveta, I would like you to meet Mínguó Fa and Siaoran Yao." Arthur indicated the two Asians who both bowed in greeting.

"Ni hao Lele," Yao said smiling at her while tying back his long black hair. Mínguó just smiled and shook hands. The next to be introduced were the two blondes.

"These fine men are Eduard Vabariik and Raivis Latvijas." Raivis took Elizaveta's hand in his and kissed it. Elizaveta was shocked; to say the least. Eduard bowed before repeating Raivis' gesture.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss. Lele." Eduard said using the name that Yao had given her. Elizaveta smiled and looked around.

"Where's Toris?" she asked. "He was with Feliks just a minute ago." All the men in front of her groaned. Arthur patted Elizaveta on the shoulder.

"Your brother has become a victim of Feliks' measuring tape. Once she finds the perfect boy with just enough curves to wear women's clothes, she locks up her workshop to the rest of the group and spends hours at a time going over fabrics, which designs look best what length the skirt should be and whatnot. Your brother might not make it out alive." Yao grimaced.

"I was once a victim of that very same measuring tape when I joined in high school; I still am." Arthur took Elizaveta's hand yet again and walked with her around the theater to the back hall behind the stage. Elizaveta found that a new name had been added to the first several doors. It read; "Lizzie Lietuva". Elizaveta turned to Arthur.

"Lizzie?" she asked.

"Sadiq's in charge of labeling the doors. Complain to him." Elizaveta looked up at Arthur and smiled. She smiled the first smile since the first year of high school. Arthur looked startled.

"Why are you smiling?" the smile turned instantly into a frown.

"I don't know. I'm sorry. I will stop smiling." She did stop smiling and she also left. Why had she smiled? Well, she wouldn't anymore because it clearly caused Arthur discomfort to see her smile. Who asked him anyway? Elizaveta was walking at a moderately fast pace when she tripped on the stairs to the stage. Picking herself up and brushing herself off; she continued walking.

Everyone in the theater was quiet. Elizaveta poked her head out from behind the curtain to see why everything had gone graveyard silent. Standing in the middle row of seats was a tall woman with long golden hair and piercing blue eyes. Natalia had made her entrance and her aura of death was overwhelming. Elizaveta stepped out from behind the curtain. Natalia smiled.

"Elizaveta why didn't you tell me that you would be here?" she asked her voice sending chills down everyone's spine. "I had hoped for you to tell me when you would next be here so that we could come together." Elizaveta cringed as her sister walked up onto the stage and embraced her tightly. "I was very worried when neither you nor Toris came home so I tracked your location from your cell phone. Please tell me next time." Natalia let go of Elizaveta and surveyed the room. She voiced her cell phone and home phone number to everyone in the room and told them to call her next time they planned on kidnapping Elizaveta for the day. Natalia curtsied and left. Elizaveta collapsed and Eduard rushed onto the stage to help her. Everyone else was still frozen from Natalia's visit. Eduard wrapped an arm around Elizaveta's waist as he helped her to her feet and walked with her to the front row of seats and sat with her until she calmed down. When a harsh scream was heard from backstage everyone snapped out of the stupor that they were in. Toris came running onto the stage with his shirtsleeve torn at the shoulder and halfway up the front. Feliks came running after him carrying scissors in one hand and a bolt of sky blue fabric in the other.

"Toris get back here now!" she shouted looking desperate. Toris looked frightened.

"Hell no!" He shouted back at her and ran off the stage.

"You jerk! You have the best body I have ever seen and you have the perfect build for wearing dresses! Your body is better than Yao's and his figure is so damn close to being a female's it is scary! I MUST have you!" Feliks ran after Toris as he looked for places to hide. Today things in Elizaveta's life just got ten times weirder than they already were. She felt someone stroking her hair and realized that Eduard was still sitting next to her. She closed her eyes. Eduard's hands felt soothing running through her caramel locks. He was humming something to her; was it a lullaby? What a sweetie. Elizaveta sighed contentedly and rested her head on Eduard's shoulder and soon, she was asleep. Eduard was surprised that she could sleep at all after all that commotion.

"Don't you two look sweet together." Eduard looked up to find Arthur standing in front of them. He sat down next to Eduard. "I seriously upset her." He stated bitterly. "She smiled at me and the only response I gave her was a startled question as to why she was smiling." Eduard patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I can't help you Arthur, you know that. All I can say is that this girl has some kind of problem that she needs to work through and if you give her the wrong idea she will take offence. I'm no love doctor but give her the space she needs in order to be comfortable." Arthur just stared at the Estonian.

"… This is coming from the guy who has his arm around her shoulders." Eduard shrugged.

"Her sister came in and paid a visit. Lele just weathered the most fearsome death presence in the world and I was just helping her to calm down." Eduard smiled inwardly to himself. Elizaveta was a beauty; and beautiful women always had some calamity ailing them. That was Eduard's theory anyway.

()()()

In school the next day, Elizaveta floated through life wishing her sister hadn't embarrassed her the way she had. She couldn't tell Mr. Héderváry he might just shrug it off and she didn't want to talk to the boy that ate lunch with her. She didn't know what his reaction might be. Elizaveta's mind kept drifting to the theater group. Feliks had forced Toris to join due to the fact that he had a feminine figure, Matt had her join for some unknown reason and Natalia was pretty much going to recruit herself by any means necessary. Arthur was… interesting, Tino ran her mouth off, Berwald was shy and sweet, Raivis and Eduard were gentlemen, Heracles and Sadiq both had serious love issues, Kiku was the cause of said love issues (poor guy!), Feliks was stiff and mature but a totally different person when given scissors and fabric, and Matt was a nice guy who apparently cared about these people. She didn't know much about the other members but she would get to know them in time. Elizaveta walked into the cafeteria half expecting to see someone from the theater group waiting for her but no one was there. Elizaveta sighed and sat down at the table just as the boy she ate with came in and sat down.

"You're Elizaveta Lietuva right?" he asked unexpectedly. Elizaveta nodded. "How do you know my father?" Elizaveta looked confused.

"Father?" the boy nodded.

"Yeah. Arthur Walsh, the guy that came and abducted you yesterday." Elizaveta stared at the boy in front of her. He was a few inches taller than she was; he had nice blonde hair and big blue eyes. He didn't resemble Arthur at all except for the blonde hair. The boy saw Elizaveta's disbelieving gaze. "Dad found me when I was nine and he was about half way through high school; I think. Anyway, he's about 26 now so, to me, he's my dad. My real parents abandoned me. Oh, my name is Peter, Peter Walsh." Elizaveta nodded. Nice kid, weird family. They ate the rest of their lunch in a friendly silence until the bell rang. When Elizaveta entered her classroom she saw Roderich talking to Matthew. Matt was leaning against the desk looking a bit put out. Roderich looked like he would love to shove his brother off the desk; he didn't. Elizaveta took her seat and watched the brothers continue with their silent battle. Finally Roderich sighed and shook his head in defeat. Matt punched the air and pulled a victory fist; he swept down off the desk and placed a feather light kiss in Elizaveta's hair before running out of the room. Two kisses on the hand and a kiss in her hair; what was she a kiss magnet? Elizaveta looked down at her desk preparing to bury her head in her arms and groan; she did not. Instead she found a note.

Lizzie!

Come to this address after school-an address had been scribbled on the back of the note- and bring Toris; drag him here if you must. Natalia knows; Tino called her. We can't tell you what it is but just trust us and come.

Can't wait at all,

Sadiq and Kiku, Hera, Matt, Arthur, Tino and Berwald, Feli and Lovi, Feliks, Eduard, Raivis, Alfred, Francis, and Yao and Mínguó

P.S. Friends and family of the cast and crew will be there so don't freak ok?

Friends and family? Did that mean that Peter would be there as well? Elizaveta chuckled slightly as Toris entered the room. She handed him the note and watched as his face paled ten shades. Feliks frightened him and Elizaveta would bet money that Toris didn't want to go within a twenty-mile radius of her.

When school was over, Natalia was waiting for Elizaveta and Toris at the school. When she saw Peter she ducked back into the car and stared long and hard at something before popping her head back up to call his attention. The look in Peter's eyes told the siblings that Peter was quite sane; hell, if weren't in high school he might have pissed himself. Natalia wasn't the kind of person whom one could look at without getting the feeling that their lives were in danger. The three of them slid into the car and Natalia drove off.

()()()

This wasn't a house. This could not possibly be a house. It might have been a hotel if not for the air of grandeur that seemed to flow in rivers out of every nook and cranny of its perimeter. At the front door of the villa stood Matt. It appeared that he had been waiting for them. Natalia stopped the car and turned around in her seat.

"I apologize. I will not be able to attend this gathering for I have to go to work. Ta, ta!" The three kids ran out of the car as fast as they could and watched Natalia drive away. They turned around and Matt greeted them.

"I was afraid that Natalia would be joining us." He said a sigh of relief passing through his lips. Elizaveta shook her head; thankful that that was not the case. They entered the building and lifted their legs as to not trip and or stumble over the many, many, many feisty cats scampering here and there. Everyone from the theater group and then some were waiting for them and everyone seemed to let loose sighs of relief when they realized that Natalia was not present. Matt turned to Elizaveta and Toris as Peter ran to greet Arthur.

"Today we celebrate the two of you joining our theater group. Don't worry we do this for everyone." Everyone clapped and Elizaveta blushed. She looked around the room and took note of all the familiar faces. There were Feliciano and Lovino but, who was that man that Feli was talking to? Tall blonde and blue eyed the man spoke in a gruff German accent. Across from them Francis was chatting in French to another green-eyed blonde. This man was shorter and had a rifle strapped to his back. At the opposite end of the room Elizaveta caught Sadiq struggling to escape the hold of a man wearing an Egyptian headdress. The man was holding Sadiq back because; as she let her eyes travel slightly to the right, Elizaveta saw Heracles and Kiku conversing pleasantly. Behind his back, Hera flipped Sadiq the finger that made Sadiq even more furious. A hand was placed on Elizaveta's shoulder.

"Enjoying the party?" Elizaveta looked behind her shoulder. Eduard had popped up and was looking at her.

"It is interesting enough." She said. Eduard picked her arm up by the elbow and looped it through his own and the two started walking through the room. "Who are all these people?" she asked.

"The big guy talking to Feli and Lovi is Ludwig von Weiss, Feli's German boyfriend. The short man talking to Francis is Vash Svizzera. Mr. Svizzera speaks French, German, and Italian fluently so go to him, Francis, Ludwig, or the Fiore Brothers if you want to learn something in either language." Elizaveta nodded and Eduard kept talking. "The man restraining Sadiq from completely annihilating Heracles is his cousin, Gupta el Ashry. Sadiq and Gupta's fathers are brothers, but Gupta was born and raised primarily in Egypt. He moved here last year so he's still going through culture shock." As if he had heard, Gupta raised his head and dragged Sadiq with him. A good look at Gupta made Elizaveta's jaw drop. He was gorgeous. He had golden eyes that reminded her of a gentle but deadly flame. His mouth was perfect; not quite delicate but not full either. He had high imperious cheekbones that only emphasized his good looks and his body was to die for. His tanned skin glowed in the dim light of the hallway. He smiled at Eduard.

"Did you call?" he asked. His voice felt like the sweet velvet of rich Swiss chocolat melting in the mouth.

"I was just giving Miss Lele here an informal introduction." Transferring his hold on Sadiq to his left hand, Gupta held out his right for Elizaveta to shake.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Lele. Where do you hail from?" Elizaveta thought about it for a moment before answering.

"My siblings and I were all born in Belarus. When Natalia was 12 and Toris and I were 3 we moved to Hungary. We lived there until Toris and I were 12; then we traveled to Lithuania and toured the country. About three years ago we moved here." Elizaveta conveniently left out the part where her parents had left them. Elizaveta watched as Sadiq finally managed to break free of Gupta's hold.

"Ye damn bastard," He stated venomously before walking toward Kiku and Heracles to cut the chitchat. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch what would happen next. Kiku, standing between the two men glanced back and forth between the two with a frightened look on his face. To whom it was aimed or why it was voiced no one knew but, when Elizaveta opened her mouth the statement came forth.

"Just kiss him already!" What happened next would be permanently engrained into the memories of all who had attended the party. Hera grabbed Sadiq by the collar of his shirt and forced their lips together. Silence permeated the entire villa as Hera moved his lips on Sadiq's unresponsive ones. Kiku had fainted a long time ago when Heracles kissed Sadiq and Sadiq just stood there frozen in place; shock had made it impossible for him to do anything. When Hera broke the kiss, Sadiq rocked on his heels a bit before his face heated with rage. He lashed out at the Grecian man with all his strength and left a stinging red mark on the lad's cheek where the older man's hand had struck. An awkward silence seeped in and settled as Sadiq picked up a still unconscious Kiku and carried him out of the room. Gupta bowed his head to Elizaveta before making sure that Heracles was alright. Heracles started sniffling loudly into Gupta's shoulder; Gupta just stroked Heracles on the back of the head sympathetically, murmuring sweet nothings in his ear. What a way to have one's very first awkward moment!

()()()

There was no school and there were no theater activities. Elizaveta had nothing to do and no one to talk to. What she wouldn't give to have friends her own age! Elizaveta opened the window to her room and climbed out onto the roof. She hadn't done this since she had moved here. Here, in the one place where worries were swept away and cares went rolling down; thoughts were blown clear with the wind and freedom reigned supreme, Elizaveta relaxed. The winter sun bore down on her exposed arms and legs and the chill wind sent goose bumps over the bare limbs. Elizaveta didn't shiver. Why should she? Why should she fear what was natural?


	4. 3 A Tank Almost Full

Chapter 3

A Tank Almost Full

February: the month of love. Even with the hole in her heart Elizaveta loved the month of February, she always had. Today she and Natalia were practicing baking chocolat. Natalia rarely got excited about anything, but working in the kitchen with Elizaveta seemed to do the trick. So far they had spent the whole of the morning and half of the afternoon going through many different recipes of how to make chocolat. By the time dinner rolled around the two girls had made 15 chocolat meringues, 20 chocolat cupcakes, 19 chocolat chip cookies, 221 chocolat candies, three platters topped high with chocolat covered strawberries, and mint chocolat syrup that was undoubtedly made for the double layer chocolat cake stationed in the middle of the table. They were, without a doubt, exhausted. When they had cleared everything up, they high-fived and collapsed onto the couch in the family room. Toris came down soon after only to be greeted by both sisters asleep and a plethora of chocolat treats. On the table in front of said treats was a note.

Dearest brother,

If you touch those treats, then I will personally castrate you without any hesitation whatsoever upon discovering your treacherous deed. If you wish to have your balls still attached to your body, then I suggest you take heed to my words darling brother.

Your loving sister,

Natalia

Toris didn't touch the desserts. He knew Natalia would be true to her word. He put the note back on the table just as the phone decided to start ringing. He picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Toris? Is that you?" An uncertain female voice sounded on the other line.

"Yes, this is Toris. May I ask who you are?" A sigh was heard on the other end.

"This is Feliks. I thought that I would have to talk to Natalia. Um, actually seeing as it is Valentine's day in about three days Matt was wondering if you all would like to come to a party that day."

"I'll talk to Natalia about it. If we do end up coming make sure that you have no chocolat."

"No?" Feliks asked. "Why not, are you guys allergic?" Toris shook his head though he knew Feliks couldn't see him.

"No, it's not that, no one in our family is allergic to chocolat. No, Elizaveta and Natalia just spent the whole day in the kitchen baking up chocolat goodies. They're sleeping right now so let them rest."

"Ok," Feliks whispered. "Call me back when they wake up alright?"

"Alright," Feliks gave Toris her cell phone number and hung up. Neither Elizaveta nor Natalia woke up until the next day about midmorning. Elizaveta woke up first and found that Toris had taken the liberty to wrap everything in saran wrap to keep them safe. The cake, syrup, and candies had been placed in the fridge to keep them spoiling. On the table Elizaveta found a note from Toris next to the one that Natalia had written.

Hey,

I don't know when you'll wake up so I decided to write this instead. Matt and the theater group have invited us to a Valentine's Day party on the 14th. Seeing as we have so many chocolat goodies, I thought that it would be a good thing to bring them all, that is, if we went.

I'm going to sleep now,

Toris

Elizaveta woke Natalia and showed her the note. Natalia was ecstatic. She loved the idea of everyone getting together to celebrate.

"And Elizaveta," she said smiling childishly. "You must give the man you like a little bag of chocolats that you made yourself." She paused in her speech and looked thoughtful. "That blonde man with the oval glasses; the one with green eyes, he seems to have a thing for you, why don't you make him some?" Elizaveta blanched.

"WHAT! Natalia I can't do that! Eduard is a friend! I don't have any special feelings for him! It wouldn't be right if I just gave him chocolats!" Elizaveta lowered her head and blushed profusely. Natalia patted her younger sister on the shoulder.

"Then you can just give everyone the chocolat candies that we made." Elizaveta sighed and got to work stitching little bags for the chocolat. One bag for Tino and Berwald; filled and done. One bag for Feliciano and Lovino; filled and done. One bag for Kiku and Sadiq; filled and done. One bag for Matt, one for Arthur, one for Hera, one for Yao and Mínguó, one for Raivis, one for Francis, one for Alfred; all filled and done! The bag that she made for Eduard however, she stitched tulips and not roses. Elizaveta knew that the meaning that tulips held was a stronger meaning than that of roses but she didn't really know what the flowers meant exactly. She closed all the bags and placed them back into the fridge.

()()()

Elizaveta carried the box with the cake and a bag with the candies; Toris had a platter of strawberries balanced on his head and the other two balanced on the open palms of each hand; Natalia carried the cookies, meringues, cupcakes, and syrup carefully stacked in her arms with the syrup perched precariously on top of everything else. Elizaveta walked the fastest seeing as she had the least to carry. The door to the villa opened for the siblings as the trio drew nearer. The box was taken from Elizaveta, Toris was liberated from two of the platters and Natalia had the meringues and cupcakes relieved from her grasp. Their saviors stood in front of them smiling.

"How much stuff did you guys make?" Feliks asked skeptically eyeing the goods everyone was holding.

"Not that this isn't fun or anything," Eduard piped up. He was holding the box with the cake in it and one of the platters of chocolat covered strawberries. "But maybe we should take these into the kitchen so everyone has free hands?" the deed was soon done. Toris gave Feliks a small bag of chocolat that he had made the night before. He said it was because she was the only girl who didn't shy away from him. Feliks giggled and tousled Toris' hair. Elizaveta began handing out her chocolat. Francis kissed her cheek and thanked her profusely "for the beautiful gift of a young maiden's heart." Tino hugged her and Berwald mumbled his thanks, Arthur gave her a warm smile and kissed her forehead in thanks, Kiku bowed and Sadiq tousled her hair. All in all, the reactions to her gift varied from person to person; Lovino had kissed both cheeks twice before placing a small kiss on her nose. At last, she gave Eduard his bag of chocolat. He took time to inspect the handy-work of the bag and smiled at the crimson red tulip she had sewn.

"Lele," he said quietly. "Do you know what the red tulip symbolizes in the language of flowers?" he asked. Elizaveta shook her head. Just red tulips meant something?

"What do they symbolize?" she asked in response to his question.

"They symbolize true love." Elizaveta looked horrified. Had she known that she would have stitched a rose; just as she had on everyone else's bag.

"I am so sorry," she said. "I didn't know! I thought roses and tulips held the same meaning primarily but that the meaning of tulips was slightly more important. I – forgive me." She finished her frantic apology helplessly. Eduard chuckled lightly.

"It's ok. I don't mind. Well, if it's alright," he stopped suddenly, took a breath and continued speaking. "Would it be alright if I gave you a kiss?" Elizaveta blinked up at him. "No?" Elizaveta continued to blink. Eduard turned to leave when Elizaveta slowly reached up to cup his chin in her hand.

"You may. I've already been kissed seven times today but you're the first person to ask. That's why it took a while to answer. I was just making sure that I heard you correctly." Eduard smiled again and dipped his head to place a small but lingering kiss on her delicate lips. Elizaveta tilted her head to the side a bit wondering why Eduard was still leaning over her; the kiss had just been a brief brushing of lips on lips. Eduard stood up and blushed. That's not right. Elizaveta should have been the one blushing; why did she feel triumphant? She heard someone give a catcall. Oh dear. The triumphant feeling vanished in an infinitesimal second and she collapsed on weak knees.

The rest of the party passed with much merry making and approximately 18 drunken cats and three drunken men; names shall not be given. Elizaveta had learned that Heracles owned the villa thus explaining why there were cats present in the first place.

()()()

Who on Earth said that is was alright to snow every day of the week for a week and a half? Elizaveta loved the snow; she had for the longest time and she was ecstatic when the first snow fell. However, when the snowing refused to stop when the blanket on the ground reach 20 inches, no one was really happy. There was no school, which meant that there was no homework to keep the minds of the students busy. All the shops were closed, which meant that the majority of adults and working college students couldn't keep their minds busy that. February was now over and the snow had reached a record of two and a half feet. By the time Saint Patrick's Day came and went there was only half a foot of snow left and by the end of March, the snow had melted completely. With the snow gone, the creatures of spring started appearing. The crocuses, tulips, roses, irises and daffodils sprouted, budded and bloomed in beautiful flowers. Spring had come at last and with spring came new arrivals in more way than one.

()()()

Elizaveta walked into the concert hall with Toris and Natalia one fine April day only to hear an extraordinary male singing voice, angry German threats, and an occasional gunshot.

"Bruder! Will you please stop that incessant screeching?" Ludwig shouted at the top of his lungs. The man he was yelling at didn't seem to pay him any mind. "Einz. Zwie. Drei." Another gunshot sounded. Mr. Svizzera was there as well. Tall with white hair and gleaming red eyes like the devil he had; the man was as pale as the winter snow that had just vanished. He finished his song. He eyed Mr. Svizzera nastily before raising the corner of his mouth in contempt.

"Oi Schwester, I don't like playing games while I'm rehearsing!" Mr. Svizzera looked outraged.

"'Schwester'?" he demanded. "Idioten! Ich bin 'bruder'!" The albino German flipped Mr. Svizzera the finger with both hands until he realized that ladies were present.

"No, no," Natalia choked out holding her sides. "Please continue." She nearly fell to the ground laughing. Toris had left and Elizaveta stood there looking perplexed. What was so bad about the man singing that Ludwig had to have Mr. Svizzera shoot the man's head off?

"You have a nice singing voice." She stated subconsciously. The albino man smiled at her and lifted and imaginary cap off his head.

"Gilbert von Weiss, at your service. It seems as though SOMEONE likes to listen to me sing!" Gilbert shouted over his shoulder. "Unlike two dickheads that I know."

"Now Gilbert," Matt had appeared from behind the stage curtains. "You know I love it when you sing. It's especially delicious to hear you hit the high notes during our _alone time_ together." Gilbert turned three shades of red that Elizaveta didn't know existed for someone of his complexion. Matt snuck up behind Gilbert and wrapped his arms around the man's waist. He rested his chin on Gilbert's shoulder and gazed at Elizaveta. "Lizzie, want a job to do?" He asked. Elizaveta nodded uncertainly. "Great! I want you to go into the kitchen and find a weapon." She raised an eyebrow at that.

"A weapon? Are you crazy?" Matt shrugged and chuckled.

"That's what they tell me!" Elizaveta rolled her eyes. "Just so you know; your weapon is your personality. Feliks has scissors because she's a seamstress, Arthur literally has light weight blades in the shape of CDs hanging somewhere in his studio, Tino has her Pointe shoes," here Matt stopped and brought a hand up to massage the back of his head; undoubtedly recalling fond memories of Tino bashing his skull in with her toe shoes. Matt continued talking before too much time had passed in reminiscing nostalgic memories of ceaseless head and body aches. "Just so you know, your weapon doesn't have to be your run of the mill weapon; for all I care it could be a sponge so long as you feel power in wielding it. Lecture over." Elizaveta nodded enthusiastically before waltzing into the kitchen to look for a weapon that would suit her. A frying pan? Nah! To overused. A knife? She'd need it to kill herself but as a weapon; no. A meat mallet? No. Flat out, no. A wooden mixing spoon? Hmmm. There was an option. She swiped the spoon in front of her for a bit, then started jabbing and parrying as though she were fencing with it. This was fun! Or not; her next parry earned her a painful moan. Elizaveta looked up to find Raivis standing in front of her with Peter behind him. Raivis wasn't so much standing as he was bent over clutching his stomach. Elizaveta all but dropped the spoon as she knelt down in front of him making sure he was alright.

"I am so sorry!" she repeated this phrase at least twenty thousand times before Raivis clapped a hand over her mouth and told her to please be quiet. Elizaveta placed her hands on Raivis's stomach and started pressing lightly until her hands were placed under his ribs. She started massaging the injured spot. Raivis removed her hands and took off his shirt. Ok, he didn't really need to do that but, it was a good way to have the pressure applied directly. Peter left closing the door behind him. He didn't want to be there in case something else happened. He bumped into Eduard in the hallway on his way to Arthur's studio. Eduard kept walking in the direction of the kitchen. The door to aforementioned room opened and Raivis stepped out pulling his shirt on. Eduard gave the Latvian a questioning look. Raivis patted Eduard on the shoulder and smirked slightly.

"Your girlfriend has the hands of an angel." Raivis passed Eduard; still smirking. Eduard stood rooted to the spot for quite a few moments before entering the kitchen. Elizaveta was dancing with a wooden spoon. To keep himself from laughing, Eduard forced himself to ask the question that was on his mind.

"I saw Raivis come from here not too long ago. What happened?" Elizaveta shrugged.

"I was playing with my spoon and I stabbed him in the stomach. I gave him a massage to make it feel better." Eduard groaned. The way Raivis had said it had made it seem as though something ENTIRELY different had transpired between the two. Elizaveta smiled at the man in front of her.

"Do you need anything?" Eduard felt his heart skip a beat as he gazed into Elizaveta's smiling face. He took her into an embrace and buried his face in her hair. Elizaveta giggled slightly and bopped him playfully on the head before gently pushing him away. "Silly! If you wanted a hug I would have said yes! Is there anything else you need?" she asked sweetly the smile was still on her face. Eduard brushed her cheek with the side of his hand and whispered,

"You should smile more often. It makes you glow. It is truly a warm and comforting feeling." Elizaveta's smile grew wider. "Yeah, like that." Eduard placed a kiss in her hair before leaving her to continue dancing with the spoon.

"MEIN GOTT! It's a spoon!" Gilbert declared as Elizaveta reentered the auditorium. More people had gathered in the vast space. Matt stood on the stage and everyone else was either sitting in the isle chairs or lounging on the stage. The stage also had countless cats sprawled here and there; two or three of them were chasing a small yellow bird. Gilbert yelled again. "Get away from Gilly you fiends!" he dove onto the stage and rescued the pathetic creature from harm's way. He stroked the bird's tiny head with his finger and glared at Hera. "Keep your monsters away from my Gilly!" Hera chuckled.

"Keep your peep away from my cats. They love peeps and if they see one moving across the floor of course they'll pounce!" Gilbert aimed a kick at Heracles' head but Hera rolled easily out of the way. Matt clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention.

"Ok! The reason why I called you here today was not so you guys could argue but to pick out which play we should act out. Any ideas?" silence hung heavy in the room as thoughts of this and that filled the air.

"How about Peter Pan?" Gilbert shouted.

"I hate being Tinker Bell you Scheißekopf!" Tino shouted. She had asked Ludwig how to shout at Gilbert so he wouldn't make fun of her. To stop the argument Elizaveta spoke up.

"How about Aladdin or Turandot, or Ali Baba and the …" She was cut off by Matt.

"All in favor of Aladdin raise your right hand, those in favor of Turandot raise your left hand, and all in favor of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves stand up." Three quarters of the people present raised their right hand only three raised their left and only a cat stood on its hind legs; he was trying to catch Gilly. "Aladdin it is then. Thank you Lizzie." To the rest of the cast and crew and friends he said, "I will contact you when I have the cast list. If you have issues with the casting; deal with it." Silence hung like a dead weight as Matt walked back stage.


	5. 4 A Tank Loosing Fuel&the Best Casting

Chapter 4

A Tank Loosing Fuel and the Best Casting Yet

One week, two weeks, three weeks, and getting close to four weeks; Matt had yet to post the full casting for Aladdin. So far, all that was known about the casting was this;

The Genie - Sadiq el Ashry

Aladdin - Gupta el Ashry (must get him to do this at any cost!)

Princess Jasmine - Heracles Girisha

Aside from this no other information was known. Everyone was growing restless. Who would be Jafar? What creatures would play the roles of Iago, Abu and Rajah? Who would get the delightful role of Razoul, the Captain of the Guard of Agraba? No one knew but everyone wanted to know.

()()()

Elizaveta was humming to herself as she helped Feliks shop for fabrics suitable for the production. Feliks had dragged Sadiq and Gupta by the ears – quite literally – to make sure that the selections were quite accurate. Sadiq complained to no end about going shopping but Gupta put up with it admirably well. Once the group had made their purchases, Feliks forced Sadiq to drive them the local park so they could relax a little. Sadiq hated the fact that such a tiny little weasel could control him at the drop of a hat.

"Is that my little Hun?" Elizaveta nearly fell off the bench that she was seated on. The voice was loud and booming and filled with joy. She turned a full 180 degrees in her seat to find a man with a short brown beard and short brown hair and dancing green eyes walking toward them. Elizaveta's face lit up as she flew out of her seat and into the man's arms.

"Uncle Mags! I missed you so much! Why are you here?" the man squeezed Elizaveta tightly and spun her around.

"I thought I'd pay my favourite nephew a surprise visit," he placed her down on the grass and studied her appearance. "Or should I say 'niece' now? You have grown into such a beautiful young woman. What happened to the little tomboy that used to spar with me?" Elizaveta blushed and looked down at the ground.

"I still have him buried deep inside me. High school will do that to you I'm afraid." Uncle Mags picked Elizaveta up and tossed her over his shoulder like a bag of rice and spun her around so quickly that he made 183 turns in the space of 50 seconds. When he stopped Elizaveta was gasping for air and pounding on his back giggling uncontrollably. As she was, Uncle Mags brought her back over to the table where she had been sitting. Feliks, Sadiq and Gupta stared at the man with looks of utter astonishment. His booming laugh echoed through the park as he set Elizaveta back down on her feet.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet Uncle Maggie Lietuva, my father's brother. He let us live with him when we were living in Hungary. Uncle Mags, I would like to introduce you to Feliks Finn; she's from Poland, Sadiq el Ashry; he's from Turkey, and his cousin, Gupta el Ashry; he was born and raised in Egypt." Maggie nodded to everyone in turn.

"Have you all been taking good care of my nephew?" he asked taking a seat next to Elizaveta. They gave him strange looks.

"Nephew," Feliks asked. "You mean Toris?" Elizaveta shook her head.

"No, he means me." Sadiq gave her a look of interest.

"Yer a guy?" Uncle Mags roared with laughter.

"Nah, when Hun was younger I taught him everything I knew on hand to hand combat, weaponry and so on and so forth. Sooner rather than later she told me that she wanted to be my 'nephew' instead of my 'niece' so, since then I have always called Hun my 'nephew'." Elizaveta punched him playfully in the arm.

"I will always be your nephew whether you like it or not!" Maggie tsked.

"Hun, Hun, Hun, your punch has lost its intensity. This is how a real punch is thrown." Everyone in the park stopped to watch a full-grown man throw a punch in the face of a seventeen-year-old girl. However, Elizaveta blocked the punch effortlessly and took the opening it gave to elbow him hard in the stomach.

"You were saying? My not seeing you for several years is no excuse for me not to practice every chance I get. I never know when I might need to defend myself from dangerous men." Maggie held up a hand as he tried to catch his breath.

"You certainly have been practicing young man. Oomph! In fact I think you might be stronger than me now." Elizaveta smirked.

"I didn't win all those gold medals for nothing you know. I still get emails asking for 'Hungary's finest female fighter' to participate in competitions. I really want to but now, I am afraid to." Uncle Mags smiled weakly as he clutched his stomach tenderly. You could tell that those two had a very close relationship. Feliks offered Maggie a ride due to the fact that he had hopped in a taxi when he arrived here and the five of them drove back to the concert hall.

Toris and Natalia attacked Uncle Mags when he entered the auditorium. Feliks, Sadiq and Gupta cornered Matt about Elizaveta. They told him everything that they had found out. Matt listened in interest.

"Maggie calls her his nephew and he treats her as he would any other guy." Feliks awed. She just couldn't get the image of sweet, soft-spoken Elizaveta acting like a teenage boy out of her head. BANG! Everyone looked up to see Mags lift himself off the auditorium doors and counterattack. Elizaveta looked ecstatic. She threw punches and kicks, she flipped Mags over on more than one occasion and she could do a back handspring out of the way like it was nobody's business. Matt's jaw hit the floor as did the jaws of Feliks, Sadiq, Gupta, Arthur, Heracles, Raivis, Kiku, Tino and Berwald, Yao and Mínguó, and Feliciano and Lovino.

"Man Hun, when ya said that ya still practiced you weren't kiddin' were ya?"

"My title still holds doesn't it? I am Hungary's finest female fighter and I have won 20 gold medals in competitions held around the country." Elizaveta turned to see why everyone was so quiet. Her face went from neutral to ghost pale and from ghost pale to bright, bright fire engine red. Her shield had been torn down and it was all thanks to Uncle Mags. The door to the auditorium opened again and Eduard entered. Registering the looks on everyone's face and seeing Elizaveta's state he did what any sensible person would do in his place; ask what the hell was going on.

"Dude, your girlfriend's a fighter chick!" Raivis shouted from across the vast chamber. That was the wrong thing to say. Maggie whirled on Eduard; his face red with fury.

"You're my nephew's boyfriend?" he demanded. Eduard gave him a face that screamed 'I'M NOT GAY!'

"Uncle Mags, Eduard is not and I repeat, not my boyfriend. Raivis just likes to make fun of us." Elizaveta explained calmly. Uncle Mags seemed to calm down a little.

"Hun, will you please tell your long suffering uncle when you do start dating? I want to assess the man before he starts going out with my adorable little nephew." Elizaveta swept Maggie's feet out from underneath him before answering.

"Of course. You've said it before several times, I'm a boy in a girl's body; though lately I've been acting more like a girl…" she left her thought unfinished.

"Eduard," Toris said from the blonde's right. "Don't do anything stupid around Elizaveta or Uncle Mags will have your head. When she won the district championships in middle school an upperclassman asked her out on a date and when Uncle Mags was finished with his inspection, well let's just say that the upperclassman couldn't walk properly after that." As if on cue, Uncle Mags placed a hand on Eduard's shoulder and stared long and hard into the man's face; his eyes seemed to bore into the very depths of Eduard's soul.

"I give you permission to date Hun when you are ready to ask him. Now, I know that age doesn't matter at all for it is only a number but, just for the sake of knowing, how old are you?"

"28."

"Wonderful! You are only eleven years older than he is!" Eduard couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed. He couldn't think, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't even see properly. His sweet, darling, innocent, and adorable Elizaveta had the soul of a teenage guy buried deep within her and he didn't know when it would surface fully. Little did he know, Elizaveta had no plans of ever letting her old self come to the surface; she would make sure that it never happened.

()()()

Elizaveta knew that the hole in her heart couldn't be healed that easily if at all. She had been betrayed and abandoned on more than one occasion. Her encounter with Uncle Mags had brought some very painful memories back to the surface of her thoughts. Her past wasn't exactly kind and she didn't want to repeat it now. She silently apologized to the people in the theater group as she slid into the warm water of the bath. She murmured a chant as she drew a knife from under the bathmat and pierced the palms of both hands and ran the blade across both wrists. The knife dropped gracefully into the pool of warm water and Elizaveta closed her eyes for what she hoped was the last time. As the water slowly turned crimson Elizaveta thought. I'm sorry everyone, I can't let my life become your burden. You all are too happy to be brought down by someone like me. I won't be here in the future but I was glad to have met you all and to be reunited with Uncle Mags before I left. Elizaveta soon lost consciousness after this thought. This time for sure, when she opened her eyes, she would be dead and all around her there would be flames or pearly white clouds. Instead she saw a blue sky with an occasional cloud; limbo. Well, it was a start.

_Why are you here? _A voice inside her head inquired._ You aren't supposed to die yet. You still have years to live._

Elizaveta sat up and shrugged her shoulders.

"Have you seen the life that I have lived?"

_I have seen it and I have not liked it; not all of it anyway. _Elizaveta sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What are you my guardian angel or something? Are you here to give me some divine revelation or some such crap? I aint buyin' it! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't be sent to Heaven or Hell."

_You are going to be a mother in the foreseeable future._

"My mother and father abandoned me; when they still lived with us, they fought all the time. Tell me why I should find that a good enough reason."

_This child will not be your own. You will have found her._

"When will this be?"

_Very soon._

"You're just doing this to get me to go back to the world of the living aren't you?"

_Yes and no. Yes, because you have a loving sister, brother and uncle not to mention that there is a certain blonde-haired-green-eyed bespectacled boy sitting by your side as we speak waiting for you to wake up. No, because when you meet this child you will feel a certain connection to her._

"I'm seventeen."

_You will be eighteen in two days. Today is May 6th. The child will only be an infant. Just humor me and give life another try. If, at the end of the month, you still feel like killing yourself, I'll talk to big guys ok?_

Elizaveta nodded and closed her eyes again. Upon opening them for a second time, she found herself lying in a hospital bed. The room was dark so it must have been nighttime. As she looked around the room, she noticed that she was the only one who was awake. She noticed that Eduard was asleep in a chair next the bed, Natalia was on her other side, and Toris was using Uncle Mags' shoulder as a pillow while Uncle Mags was resting his head on top Toris'. Elizaveta chuckled as she recalled her visit to limbo. Who was that weird voice in her head? Oh well, it didn't matter. What did matter was this; how long had she been unconscious? The door to the room opened and in stepped one of the nurses.

"Oh good, you're awake." She whispered. She walked over to Elizaveta's side and lifted her hands from her lap. "I need to change the bandages. You were out for two days." Elizaveta looked down at her wrists and saw that they had been tightly bound to stop the bleeding. She looked away when the bandages came off because she didn't want to see the scars that she had caused herself. Her wrists hurt a new when she felt the clean bandages replace the dirty ones.

"You know," the nurse said to her. "Your boyfriend was in tears when he got here. I'm surprised he was able to drive in his state." She pointed to Eduard who still slept with his head on the bed. "Don't attempt to do anything so stupid again; everyone in this room was in hysterics. If you had a child of your own do you think she would like it if her mother killed herself?" Elizaveta shook her head. Any child of hers would think that she is mentally unstable and unreliable. The nurse left the room shortly after without another word. Elizaveta looked back to Eduard. Had he really been crying when he heard that she had nearly succeeded in killing herself? In her heart she hoped so but in her mind she didn't believe so. In any event, she leaned over and kissed the side of his head somewhat awkwardly.

"Thanks for caring Ed." She whispered softly to his sleeping form.

"Caring?" Eduard raised his head. "Just caring wouldn't have me with rivers of tears streaming down my cheeks." Elizaveta looked down at her newly bandaged hands and blushed. "Lele, I was scared that you had actually gone and killed yourself; why would you do something like that?" he demanded.

"My past was rough and my present is screwed up; I just wanted it all to end. I felt sorry for myself and for everyone who had to put up with my selfish behaviour." Eduard hoisted himself up onto the bed and sat next to Elizaveta. He took her face in his hands and made her look at him. His green eyes made it impossible to look away.

"I am the only one that your uncle contacted about the incident. I felt overjoyed at being the only one in the group to be by your side as you suffer through this. I don't think that you were being a burden at all and if anything, I think you could stand to be a bit MORE selfish." With that, he brought her lips to meet his in their second kiss. This time Elizaveta kissed back. Eduard brushed his tongue across her bottom lip asking for entrance but Elizaveta pulled back instantly as she recalled some very unwanted memories. Eduard didn't know why she had pulled back but, when he saw the tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes he could probably guess that she was scared of something. He held her close and stroked her hair.

"Sssh it's ok; I'm not going to hurt you." Elizaveta sobbed into his shirt-soaking it through-until she fell asleep against his chest. Eduard maneuvered carefully so that both he and Elizaveta were lying comfortably on the bed; him on top of the covers and Elizaveta under them.

_She sat in the hall wrapping her wrists and hands; preparing for her turn in the ring. _

"_Vetya, is that you?" She turned her head and smiled. _

"_Ivan, I was just getting ready for my match." He sat down on the bench next to her and took her hand in his. _

"_I wish you much luck." He said running a thumb over the back of her hand. Elizaveta smiled uncertainly. _

"_Thank you. I wish you luck as well." Ivan turned to face her and cupped her cheek in his hand. Elizaveta's heart raced in fear, what was he going to do? Ivan placed his other hand on the other side of her face._

"_Vetya, I love you. Our first battle together, I can never forget it. Until that day I had never been defeated. When I lost to you I realized that destiny had brought us together." He stroked her cheek with his thumb. Elizaveta's mind was reeling. She was ten for Christ's sake! She tried to break free of Ivan's grasp but he held face in an iron grip. Ivan brought her face closer to his and as she felt his lips close over hers, she felt fear and anger well up inside her. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she felt his tongue intrude into her mouth. She pushed vigorously against his chest and finally managed to break free. She jumped to her feet and slapped him. Ivan caught her hand as it fell to her side. _

"_Vetya, it's OK, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to hold you for a moment." Elizaveta yanked her hand away and stumbled backwards. Fear and hurt was evident on her childish face. Ivan reached out a hand to draw his heart's desire closer so that he could comfort her but she was as spooked as a rabbit cornered by a fox._

"_I am a child!" she declared her eyes red from rage – tears still clung to her lashes. "You monster! I'll make sure that you never find me again! I thought we were friends! I am a child!" more tears fell as she walked away._

()()()

"Oh, don't they look sweet together?"

"Uh, maybe we should leave? I don't want to be here in case they wake up and decide to make something of their position." Elizaveta opened her eyes and sat up. Toris, Natalia and Uncle Mags were gathered around the hospital bed. Natalia looked deliriously happy, Toris looked like he was about to puke and Uncle Mags was pretending to cover his eyes. Eduard sat up next to Elizaveta looking thoroughly disgruntled. Elizaveta had to stifle a laugh in her shoulder seeing as her hands were pretty useless; Eduard's hair was sticking out at odd ends and his glasses were hanging off the left side of his face. Natalia wasn't even trying to hide her laughter and both Toris and Uncle Mags were snickering into their fists. Eduard groaned and slid off the bed only to stumble over his own feet all the way to the bathroom. Elizaveta let her laughter roll. That was the funniest thing that she had ever seen! And apparently Eduard wasn't that coordinated in the morning. When he reemerged from making himself look decent, Eduard sat himself back on the bed.

"Never try to talk to me when I wake up in the morning." He said scooting back up to sit next to Elizaveta. Natalia had Toris stand next to Elizaveta and had them both close their eyes before rummaging in a plastic bag and bringing forth an unknown item.

"Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Toris and Elizaveta

Happy birthday to you"

In one hand she held a vanilla cupcake with chocolat icing and in the other she held a chocolat cupcake with vanilla icing. The vanilla cupcake held a #1 candle and the chocolat cupcake held a #8 candle. Neither of them were lit so Toris and Elizaveta mimed blowing them out. Eduard gawked.

"It's your birthday?" he asked sounding really moronic. Elizaveta nodded as she took the vanilla cupcake and Toris took the chocolat one.

"Yup, Toris and I are twins." Eduard looked thoughtful for a moment then turned to face her.

"I don't have a gift but," he took a deep breath of air and courage and let the air out slowly still holding tight to the courage. He took Elizaveta's chin gently in his hand and drew their lips together for yet another kiss. Natalia took the cupcake from Elizaveta so that she wouldn't drop it. The room seemed to be spinning and, the only things that Elizaveta could think of were the kiss and how good Eduard was at giving them. What drew Elizaveta and Eduard back to reality was the sound of Toris pretending to vomit. Eduard smiled shyly at Elizaveta.

"Does that work?" he asked finishing his thought. Elizaveta smiled back and nodded reclaiming the cupcake and dabbing some of the icing on Eduard's nose. While the two were busy teasing each other, Uncle Mags herded Natalia and Toris out of the hospital.

()()()

Heracles and Sadiq were staring at Gupta with wide eyes. Sadiq's expression was unreadable, Gupta looked mildly amused, and Hera looked like he was about to pass out. As Elizaveta viewed this she couldn't help but feel the awkwardness that surrounded the three men. No one was sure how Heracles felt anymore but Elizaveta was convinced that the only reason Heracles slept with Kiku in the first place was to get Sadiq jealous of Kiku. Gupta sighed and turned to leave. When he saw Elizaveta he pressed a finger to his lips. Elizaveta nodded and left the front hall.

Heracles turned to Sadiq.

"Sadiq, I'm sorry." Sadiq raised a questioning eyebrow at Hera. "I only hung around Kiku so that I could be closer to you. I think I fell in love with you the moment that I saw you and, while I know this sounds like it came out of a cheesy romance novel, I really do love you and I am sorry that I hurt you. I hope we can work together so that the play isn't a total flop." Hera hung his head and apologized again. Sadiq chuckled slightly.

"I thought that ye did what ye did just to piss me off. Thanks fer telling me how ya feel. Hopefully Kiku will understand when ya tell him. I'm sorry, but I cannot return yer feelings but, I hope that ye can one day find a man who will love ye every bit as much as ye deserve. I know I'm an ass but, ye can do WAY better than me." He patted the younger man on the head and walked off. Heracles smiled to himself and followed Sadiq out of the hall.

The gang was all there and the atmosphere was intense. When Matt climbed onto the stage the intensity grew. Matt opened his mouth and shouted.

"THE CASTING HAS BEEN DECIDED!" The intensity vanished into thin air. "When I call your name and who you are, please come up." Pause. "Sadiq el Ashry! You are the Genie." Sadiq climbed up onto the stage looking smug and sat over the edge. "Gupta el Ashry! You are Aladdin." Gupta climbed onto the stage.

"Yes, yes, I know. The notice you sent out before said as much."

"Heracles Girisha! You are Princess Jasmine." Heracles hoisted himself onto the stage and sprawled out on his back. Matt turned to Hera and looked down to face him. "You don't mind if we use one of your cats to play the role of Rajah do you?" No one could see Hera's reaction to this but his response was;

"I don't own any tigers but I think Sadiq and Gupta have one." Matt turned to the cousins. The Mediterranean men exchanged thoughtful glances.

"I have two, Gupta has one." Sadiq looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again. "I don' think Horus would mind, do ya?" Sadiq asked. Gupta shook his head.

"No, Horus wouldn't mind but I think Seth would." Ten long seconds ticked by before Sadiq exploded.

"ISIS!"

"You jackass! Have you not learned your lesson?" Gupta shouted at him. "Isis nearly made a meal out of your left leg and right foot! If Horus and Seth hadn't been there to pull you out of the way and fight her off, then you wouldn't be here right now." If intensity was what the group had felt earlier, then a serious case of 'what-the-hell-is-going-on' had just replaced it; settling over all those still seated in the aisle seats.

"If not Isis then whom?" Said asked agitatedly; "Horus and Seth have been together since I found them when they were kits in the wild. Horus is only now startin' to become independent whereas Seth still clings to Horus like a kit clings to its mother. Isis was a teenage nutcase when ya found her so why can't we use her?" Gupta looked like he would like to set Isis on Sadiq this very moment.

"Need I remind you, she hates you and Seth and Horus; and since your scent and their scent cling to you she will attack you if she gets the chance," Listening to all of this gave Elizaveta a massive headache. If Horus was now starting to detach him/herself from Seth and Isis hates the both of them and Sadiq, wouldn't it be logical to have Seth play the part of Rajah? Have Sadiq bring both tigers in at first and let Seth get used to it and see how things go from there. All of this, she voiced to the squabbling relatives. Both of whom just stared at her. They of course, hadn't thought any of this through. Matt cleared his throat meaningfully.

"Thank you yet again for saving us Lizzie. Now, shall I continue with the casting?" Yes. "Gilbert von Weiss! You will be Razoul." Gilbert looked uneasy as he made his way to the stage and tried to avoid everyone's eyes. Gilly, who was perched in a nest of Gilbert's hair, tweeted happily as the two walked up to the stage. Matt continued; "Maggie Lietuva! You will be Jafar and Lizzie Lietuva, you will be the guy on the camel in the very first scene; you will be the one who gets the whole thing going." Maggie had to hold Elizaveta to keep her from collapsing as they walked up to the stage. Oh dear! When they mounted the stage, Elizaveta melted into unconsciousness. Someone bring the smelling salts!


	6. 5 Horus,Seth,a StrangeRelationship&aBabe

Chapter 5

Enter Horus and Seth, a Strange Relationship, and a Babe

It took a full five minutes to wake Elizaveta up from her faint. No one, not even Maggie, Natalia, and Toris, had ever witnessed Elizaveta faint. When she did wake up she found everyone crowded around her; everyone included the cats and Gilly as well. She sat up hesitantly.

"Oh dear!" Tino exclaimed pushing through the mass of bodies that surrounded Elizaveta. "Are you quite alright? What happened? Are you anemic?" Tino didn't stop fussing. Anemic wasn't too far from the truth. It was the fact that Elizaveta had lost too much blood from her recent suicide attempt and, all the tension in the air had made it a little difficult for Elizaveta to breathe. After she convinced everyone that she was fine and wasn't going to die yet, Elizaveta pushed herself to her feet, wobbled slightly and fell forward into Sadiq. She looked up sheepishly into his masked face and mumbled an apology as he chuckled and helped her stand without toppling. Elizaveta regained her balance and went to stand by her family and Eduard. Sadiq cleared his throat and wrapped an arm around Kiku, who had been standing next to him the whole time, and pulled him closer.

"OK, I will be bringing Horus and Seth with me tomorrow and if they don't eat anyone and Seth actually feels comfortable around other humans, Seth shall play the part of Rajah."

()()()

True to his word, when Sadiq and Gupta walked into the auditorium, two massive tigers followed from behind. One was white with black and the other had red highlights to his fur. The white tiger raised his head and licked the air; turning his head in Gilbert's direction he pounced on the poor man. Gilbert let off a very high-pitched, girly scream. It wasn't Gilbert that Horus was after but Gilly, Gilbert's pathetic little peep.

"Gilly!" Gilbert shouted too late. Horus was licking Gilly. Everyone watched in amusement waiting for the predator to eat the little chick but he never did. Gilly seemed to snuggle up to the giant feline rather than shy away from it. Noticing the attention that Gilly was receiving from his brother, Seth moved forward and nudged his nose in Horus' neck. Horus didn't seem to notice his brothers' want for attention and kept playing with the baby bird. Seth roared in despair. Taking pity on him; Elizaveta walked over to Seth and held her hand out for him to sniff. He did more than sniff. He rose up on his hind legs and pushed her to the ground before bathing her in kisses. Elizaveta burst out laughing. Seth seemed to favor her scent over his brother's.

"Aren't you a sweetie?" she cooed running her hands through Seth's fur. "Yes you are. You may be huge but you wouldn't hurt a friend would you?" a deep rumble was heard from Seth." Are you purring?" Elizaveta asked the tiger. She put her head up to his chest and listened. "You ARE purring! Are you that happy to have found me?" Seth smiled in a way that only he could and licked her face again. Next thing Elizaveta knew, Sadiq was lifting Seth off of her. The tiger was complaining loudly about this fact. Sadiq looked the tiger in the eye and bopped him on the head.

"She's not yer mate ya moron! Hell, she's not even a tigress! The closest tigress to us that isn't locked up in the zoo – but should be – is Isis." At the mention of Isis' name both Seth and Horus lowered their heads and tails and shook in fear. Elizaveta went to comfort Seth while Gilly tried to do the same to Horus. Sadiq smiled. Things would work out just fine.

"Sa-chan!" a small voice called from backstage. Sadiq smirked and walked casually to where the little Asian man was hiding. Before he vanished behind the curtain however, the smirk vanished and was replaced by the most loving gaze that Elizaveta had ever seen. _Maybe Eduard will give me a gaze like that._ She thought. Everyone gets that look of pure love in their life; some just have to wait longer than others.

()()()

Everyone hides in the shadows when they are watching someone; not he. Everyone tries to give off an air of mystery about them when they make their dramatic entrance; not he. He walks out in the open with a spring in his step and a tune on his tongue. Tall in stature with silver-blonde hair, the man had playful violet eyes that knew almost everything. Strong in mind and body he almost always got what he wanted. He walked with a slight limp due to an accident in the past; it bothered him not for he was still healthy and agile. Today he was happy because he was to be reunited with his first love. He hadn't seen her since five years ago when she won the gold in the district championships. He had been terribly upset when she had moved away after he had asked her out. Had she done that to avoid him? He didn't want to think about it. He would be seeing her and then he would ask her. He didn't know that she didn't miss him as much as he wanted her to. In fact she was quite happy believing that he didn't know where she lived. He walked on with the address of her current place of residence in his hand.

()()()

Elizaveta felt a chill run down her spine. She looked around the hall and noticed that it was relatively empty; she dismissed it as a draft.

"Rere-chan!" Kiku came running up to her. "Sadiq and I need your help applying blue face-paint to the rest of his body. Apparently I'm taking too long." Elizaveta shrugged her shoulders. How bad could it be? Very bad; Sadiq without a shirt on was a very delicious sight. Even with blue patches all over his tanned skin it didn't hide the well-defined six-pack adorning his abdomen. Elizaveta shook her head. She had seen many shirtless men in her days in combat; Sadiq was just another guy with a well toned body; that, and he was gay so it didn't matter anyway. Elizaveta noted the many, many, many containers of professional face paint that Kiku had and hadn't gone through. Kiku handed her one of the containers.

"Stick your hand in, get a glob out, and spread." He instructed as he started doing just that. This actually wasn't as awkward as she thought it would be. Sadiq stayed perfectly still for the most part but, upon beginning to spread the blue substance along his legs; he giggled. Elizaveta and Kiku looked up from their painting expedition to see if Sadiq was alright. He told them to continue. Elizaveta continued to cover his legs in the blue face paint. He giggled again; this time it sounded like a choked out laugh. Elizaveta reached out and stroked his thigh with a finger. Sadiq started giggling uncontrollably. Kiku joined Elizaveta in tickling Sadiq's legs. This was too much fun! Who knew Sadiq was ticklish and his legs were his weak spot? Sadiq was gasping for air by the time Elizaveta and Kiku had finished covering his legs in the blue substance that was face paint.

"Kiku my love," he said when Elizaveta left the room. "Tut kolumdan çek götür beni." Kiku raised an eyebrow as Sadiq pulled him into a warm and passionate kiss. Blue paint was spread between the two bodies as they continued with this heated love scene.

"As much as you two are enjoying your time together," said a voice from the open doorway of Sadiq's dressing room. Heracles stood in the hallway with his head poking into the room itself. "We have rehearsal that needs to start soon so, if you could just pry yourselves away from each other for just a little while, we can get started." Hera blew a quick kiss to Sadiq before turning around and going back to the mass of actors and stage crew. Kiku took Sadiq's hand and the two left the dressing room as well.

()()()

Gupta twirled Heracles around Seth for what seemed like the billionth time within the hour. After failing to spin properly, Matt forced Hera and Gupta to take dance lessons from Tino and Berwald. The look on Tino's face would have had the orcs from the Lord of the Rings running in fear. Berwald looked like he was going to have so much fun torturing the two men. Elizaveta couldn't help but giggle at the horrified looks on Gupta and Hera's faces. Seth, realizing that nothing was required of him at the moment, leapt off the stage and up to Elizaveta. She giggled as Seth began bathing her face in kisses. Seth had become quite attached to her and occasionally responded to her when she talked to him in either Lithuanian or Hungarian. Seth tried to sit in Elizaveta's lap but without success; he was just too big. Seth sat down in the aisle and whined. Giggling softly at his kitten like behaviour, Elizaveta got out of her seat and hugged the giant kitten. Seth purred in delight and rolled over onto his back so that Elizaveta could give his stomach a much wanted belly rub. It was hard to believe that this spoiled tiger was a fully-grown adult that, if left in the wild, wouldn't hesitate to attack her if he found her a threat.

"Lizzie," Matt called from the stage. "Would you mind taking Horus and Seth for a stroll? I can hardly imagine that they like being cooped up in here." Elizaveta agreed whole-heartedly. She called for Horus; he came with Gilly riding on his head. Horus liked Elizaveta as well because she was nice to Seth but, that was the only reason. Elizaveta went with the tigers outside.

Everywhere she went she got long glances. People stared at her and the tigers. But most of all, the thing that really got people's attention was the fact that a baby bird was riding on the head of the white tiger and neither feline was trying to snack on it. It was truly a sight to behold. When Elizaveta reached the park Seth ran ahead and pounced on butterflies and birds and Horus played with Gilly. The tigers were the main source of entertainment for the passing families and the children playing in the park. Whenever someone went up to pet Seth he cowered behind Elizaveta; those who petted Horus were rewarded with kisses from the friendly beast. Gilly also got attention but not as much as his feline counterparts. As they walked through the vast park, Elizaveta swore that she heard the crying of a babe. She wasn't the only one; Seth's ears perked up. He and Horus started sniffing around the vacant benches. The wailing became louder as the four neared one bench in particular. Under said bench and to the right a bit, was the basket of a baby pram and, in the basket lay an infant. Horus stuck his head under and gripped the basket in his teeth and pulled out the pram basket. He placed it on the bench where Elizaveta had seated herself. Elizaveta nearly fell off the bench when she remembered her time in limbo. The voice in her head had said that she would find a baby girl and she would have to take care of it as the infant's mother. She smiled at the little life. It made her feel guilty about trying to kill herself. Seth poked his head into the basket and nudged the blankets with his nose. The child's wailing turned into a melodic hiccup as she began to laugh; and oh what a melody it was. It made Elizaveta smile as she watched the babe plunge her tiny hands into Seth's ears. Seth gave a disgruntled snarl and looked at Elizaveta as if to say, 'I'm going to have this thing as a sister?' Elizaveta nodded. Elizaveta picked the infant up out of the basket and wrapped her in the blankets that were in with her. Something fell from the folds of cloth. Looking down, Elizaveta saw a note.

To whoever finds her,

Take care of her. She is yours to name and raise; I cannot. I apologize.

Goodbye

Elizaveta looked down at the smiling child in her arms and couldn't help but smile too. As she walked with the tigers and Gilly back to the concert hall, she thought of a name for the child. Daina. It meant "song" in Lithuanian. Elizaveta giggled as she tried the name out with her last name then Eduard's. Daina Lietuva rolled off the tongue sweetly but Daina Vabariik had a hidden strength that seemed to fit the sleeping life in Elizaveta's arms even better. Daina Vabariik was the child's name and it was lovely.

()()()

"Everyone," Elizaveta called as she entered the auditorium. All eyes went to her and the bundle in her arms. Tino screamed and ran to her.

"Lizzie! Is that what I think it is?" she whispered upon noticing the sleeping face. Elizaveta nodded.

"Her name is Daina Vabariik. I found her in the park when I went out with Horus, Seth, and Gilly." Tino was thrilled. She turned to the stage and called,

"Eduard! You are a father! Congratulations!" All eyes rolled from Elizaveta to Eduard, who was cleaning the stage. His face went white as he asked,

"How in the name of Estonia did that happen?" Elizaveta shot him a look.

"I found her in the park and when I named her your name fit better than my name." Eduard hopped off the stage and stumbled clumsily to where Elizaveta and Tino were standing. He looked at the child sleeping in Elizaveta's arms and instantly his face lightened. He brushed a strand of wispy blonde hair from the infant's face. She opened her eyes.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Daina Vabariik. Daina is song in Lithuanian." Eduard held his arms out and Elizaveta placed Daina in his arms. By now, everyone else had gathered around to look at the found child.

"Oh! Who's a cute little baby?" Sadiq cooed and tickled Daina under chin. Daina looked up at the strange man with blue paint all over him and started laughing; oh that beautiful, musical laugh.

"Berwald, I want a baby too!" Tino declared clinging to her husband's arm. "Can we have a baby too?" as Berwald thought about how to answer this, Eduard passed Daina over to Tino, who cradled the child lovingly in her arms. In all honesty she looked like she would be the perfect mother. Tino looked hopefully up at Berwald; Daina was still in her arms.

"Sure, but only when you've graduated from high school. I don't want your father to kill me." Tino squealed joyously under her breath so as to not upset Daina, got up on tiptoe and kissed Berwald on the cheek.

"Lizzie, you are so lucky! You get to raise a child!" Tino handed Daina back to Elizaveta. Eduard stood next to Elizaveta and looked at Daina; noticing that her eyes matched Elizaveta's in colour and his in shape. Also, she had blonde hair. Eduard didn't know if it would grow darker over the years or if it would get blonder.

"Oh! I have to call Dann and Norge and Ari!" Tino exclaimed before running off to make the calls. Elizaveta raised an eyebrow at the unusual sounding names.

"Tino's cousins. Dann and Norge spoil her rotten but Norge is the one that worries incessantly about everything that concerns her." Eduard explained. Elizaveta nodded in understanding. Elizaveta walked down to the stage with Daina in her arms looking around like the curious child that she was. Then, Daina looked into Elizaveta's face with a pout on her lips and started tugging on Elizaveta's shirt; her mouth moving as though she were sucking on a bottle. Elizaveta felt her face go red. Daina wanted to feed but Elizaveta wasn't capable of breast-feeding a babe at the moment. She gulped as she knew what she had to do.

"Does anyone have a baby bottle on them?" she asked to the room at large. There was an audible and startling CRASH from back stage and Daina started wailing again. Elizaveta bounced the wailing infant in her arms until she calmed down again. "Guys, I'm being perfectly serious here. Daina's asking to be fed and well, I can't." All of this was extremely awkward seeing as the majority of the people in the room were of the male species. Tino perked up at this thought and offered to go shopping with her. After the two women and Daina left in Berwald's car, Berwald came up to Eduard and placed a sympathetic hand on the shorter man's shoulder.

"You're going to want to stay out of your house for quite a few days after this." He said looking at the door that the two "wives" just left through. "With Tino with her they will get more than just a bottle and baby formula; they will get a crib, a stroller, a pram, infant's toys, clothes, and so much more. I made the unwise decision of giving Tino my credit card the day after our wedding. You know she nearly maxed it after four days on our honeymoon?" Eduard felt his jaw go slack. Elizaveta would probably agree to the stroller and the crib but anything else besides that he wasn't too sure; knowing Tino however, she would probably force Elizaveta to make the purchases.

()()()

Tino and Elizaveta toured Baby's R Us at least one thousand times over before deciding on a nice simple pink pram, a car seat, a crib and blankets and pillow, two baby bottles and formula, and diapers-oh the joys of motherhood! Tino respected Elizaveta's wishes and they only got three summer outfits, one sailor outfit, and four winter outfits for Daina. Tino had to have her way though when it came to the shoes; six pairs of Mary Janes, eight little lace booties, one pair of sneakers ('because they aren't cute but she kinda needs em.') And two pairs of winter and rain boots. At the checkout line, Tino's cell phone rang.

"Moi, this is Tino Suu speaking!" someone, a male by the tone of voice, spoke on the other end. "Ah, Ari! Why didn't you pick up when I tried to call you the first time?" Tino sounded playfully annoyed as she handed the clerk the credit card. "Oh, you were with Norge. Well, that would explain why he didn't pick up either!" Ari said something that made Tino roll her eyes. "Are you still with Norge now?" something was said. "Could you give him the phone?" the phone was transferred. "Norge guess what!" what? "I'm shopping for baby clothes and such!"

"WHAT?" Norge's voice could be heard clearly over the phone as he started pummeling Tino with questions. Tino giggled.

"No. Not my baby my friend's. No, no, no, no- Norge stop it! Sheesh! You take the fun out of everything!" Norge continued the interrogation for some time before Tino got fed up and told him to give the phone back to Ari. She turned to Elizaveta as they made their way back to the car. Tino's cell phone rang again.

"Moi, this is Tino Suu speaking!" another male voice spoke through the speaker.

"Tino, its Dann. I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you earlier; my boss wouldn't let me leave the bar." Tino sighed wistfully. "Well, I heard from a much stressed Norge that you're helping a friend raise a child. Is this true?" Elizaveta giggled. This man wasn't bothering to keep his voice down but he wasn't really being rude nor was he disturbing Daina.

"It's true," Tino gave Elizaveta a quick glance before returning her gaze to the road. "Lizzie, why don't you say hi to my cousin Dann? Dann my friend Elizaveta is going to say hi to you OK?" Elizaveta cleared her throat.

"Hi Dann, my name is Elizaveta Lietuva. It's nice to meet you I guess. I can't say for sure; I can't see you." Dann laughed a husky, throaty, sexy laugh.

"Dann Marck at your service; I would say nice to meet you too but, as you pointed out, I cannot not see you so; I will leave that statement for another day." Elizaveta giggle again. "So, I take it that you're the one with the kid?"

"Yes, I am. I found her abandoned in the park." Dann swore loudly in a language Elizaveta did not recognize.

"So Tino," He said turning the conversation back to her. "How is that devastatingly handsome husband of yours?" Tino scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You can give it up Dann. One of these days you will find yourself impaled upon that ax you have hung up in your room." Dann whined.

"But I wanna do the impaling! I don't need an ax. Besides, I've known him longer than you have so I get first dibs. I almost did it too before he met you."

"Oh spare me the mental imagery Dann and, in case you have forgotten, he married me not you. You'll find someone soon enough." Tino moaned. "Talk to ya later buddy; come down here when you get the chance ok?"

"'K." Tino hung up and sighed dramatically.

"Dann has been after Berwald since the day they met. It's really awkward having family reunions because sooner or later Dann is going to do something that makes the whole family say 'Why am I surprised this happened?'" Tino groaned and shut up. They drove the rest of the way in silence.

()()()

Eduard watched in stunned silence with Daina in his arms, as Elizaveta and Tino installed the car seat into his car and hefted the box with the crib into the trunk. Finally, Elizaveta placed the bag of baby clothes into the back seat and closed the car and took Daina back from Eduard.

"Vetya, is that you? What is this? What's going on?" fear struck Elizaveta like lightning. Only one person had ever called her "Vetya." Slowly, Elizaveta looked up at the person who was talking. Sapphire eyes met violet ones; silence was stretched out like a rubber band pulled taught. Elizaveta's eyes widened in fear and horror.

"No," she breathed her legs shaking violently. "Ivan."


	7. 6 HungaryFinestFemaleFighter&NewArrivals

Chapter 6

Hungary's Finest Female Fighter and Interesting New Arrivals

Everyone watched with bated breath as the newcomer stepped forward. A confused smile was on his face and his hand was held out. Elizaveta's fear morphed from panic to calm; and from calm to icy in the space of about five seconds. She clung to Daina and stood her ground. Five years of traveling the world just to be found again. No more running, no more hiding, no more.

"Vetya, I don't understand." Ivan said with the smile still on his face. "Why do you have a child in your arms?" the look Elizaveta gave Ivan could be rivaled with Natalia's worst death glare. Feliks clung to Toris, Berwald held Tino close, Kiku fainted – apparently he can't handle high levels of tension. Uncle Mags and Natalia didn't help the atmosphere at all. Where Elizaveta stood, the area around her was freezing; where Natalia and Uncle Mags stood, the area around them was burning.

"Vetya, is she yours?" Elizaveta opened her mouth and here is what she said.

"You fucking bastard, you dare follow me halfway around the globe so that you could be with me when you damn well know that I would much rather see you rot in the deepest depths of Hell. I thought I made that clear to you when you asked me out in middle school. I guess Uncle Mags breaking your legs and splintering your ankle wasn't subtle enough for you." Elizaveta handed Daina to Eduard and stepped forward. "Well, Bitchovitch," she said with deadly calm. "Would you like me to crush your worthless head in and send you personally to the gates of Hell, or would you like to do us all a favour and drop dead where you stand so that I don't have to clean your blood off my hands?" the look on Ivan's face went from confused to dreamy.

"And this is what I love about you. Your cruel words are enough to rival a Siberian blizzard in winter and your strength could take out a tiger or a bear." In a flash Ivan found a knee in his crotch and quick and sturdy hand flipping him over onto the parking lot ground. Without waiting for him to get up, Elizaveta jumped up and landed on his stomach before she hopped off. Ivan gagged and wretched blood. Elizaveta glared down at him.

"Yes, the child is mine; not biologically, but mine none the less." She let him sit up before planting her foot in his chest to keep him from moving anymore. "Oh, and another thing, when someone says 'no' the first time, it doesn't go over well when you keep pursuing and even go so far as attacking anyone who comes in contact with them and driving them into the farthest depths of their minds to the point where they can't see anything and attempt to kill themselves. I nearly succeeded too but, unlike you, I have found people who care about me and stopped me from a big mistake. You should know that while I was traveling, I was really running and hiding from you so that you wouldn't find me. Heh, what a fool I was thinking that the Great Ivan Mariaovich would back down after one rejection. When I said that I would make sure you would never find me again, I meant it with every fiber of my being all the way down to the marrow in my bones." She kicked him to prove her point. "I never want to see your pathetic face anywhere near here, is that understood?" apparently Ivan still didn't get the message for, once Elizaveta removed her foot from above him, Ivan got up and crushed her lips to his. Now, if you have forgotten, the whole cast and crew were watching and that included the animals as well; and if you remember correctly, Seth had grown pretty attached to Elizaveta so, upon realizing that his mistress was trying to kill this man in front of her he decided to lend a helping paw. Seth sprang forward and latched his jaws around Ivan's middle and tore him off Elizaveta. Seth didn't kill him, he was too smart for that; this man was his mistress's prey; if he were to kill what she wanted to kill it wouldn't go over well for him. He let Ivan go and licked his teeth. Russian blood was something that didn't taste too good. Elizaveta spat on the ground to rid herself of the poison that was Ivan's kiss.

"I'll spare you your worthless life you sniveling piece of shit and don't come back here until you have moved on." With that, Elizaveta turned on her heel and walked back to the rest of the group with Seth trotting proudly at her side. Everyone stared at her wide-eyed and mouths agape. When she took Daina back from Eduard, the babe looked up at her mother and smiled and clapped her tiny hands together. Daina was too young to know what happened but that didn't mean that she was so unaware as to not realize that something not right was going on. Everyone clapped for Elizaveta; though they were afraid of her wrath, they were glad that she was on their side.

()()()

Eduard drove Elizaveta and Daina to his house seeing as he was the one with the baby seat in the back and the crib in the trunk; also, Natalia had refused – laughing madly the whole while – to let Elizaveta come back to her own home until she and Eduard had tied the knot. Eduard looked at the woman sitting next to him in the car. He really did want to marry her but he didn't want to take away the freedom of her youth. When he stopped at a red light he and Elizaveta looked back to check on Daina. Daina looked back at them and smiled.

"Goo!" she exclaimed in baby speech. Elizaveta covered her mouth in adoration. He gazed at her excited expression and was about to caress her cheek when someone honked at them; the light had turned green. Eduard sped on.

When they reached the house, Elizaveta carried Daina on one arm and the bag of baby clothes in the other and Eduard brought in the crib. Upon entering said house however, Elizaveta had to say that she was surprised to see it so clean. With Eduard being a bachelor before he met her, she would have thought that his house would be a mess. While Eduard got the crib set up in the bedroom, Elizaveta got Daina dressed into a cute little spring suit with flowers embroidered on it and a matching white bonnet and booties. She carried Daina up the stairs to check on Eduard. The crib had been assembled and he had conked out on his bed. Elizaveta placed Daina in the crib and kissed her forehead before moving over to the double bed and sitting next to Eduard. She brushed a hand through his soft, blonde hair and removed his glasses. He looked so peaceful lying there. She kissed his forehead as well and made to leave only to have him catch her wrist.

"Who said you could leave?" he asked pulling her back down to sit on the bed. Elizaveta giggled as he sat up next to her.

"No one said I couldn't leave but, I think you might let me if I told you I was going to make something to eat." Eduard looked at her.

"You can cook?" Elizaveta shrugged.

"I kinda had to. Mum and dad just left us to our own devices and mum never cooked so I took that responsibility. Also, I did the laundry, cleaned the house, did the shopping when it needed to be done, and every other household chore that you can think of." Eduard stared at her with shock blatantly clear on his face. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Did you just say that your parents ignored you and your siblings?" Elizaveta nodded. "Where are they now?" Elizaveta shrugged.

"Who knows and who cares; all I know is that they abandoned us not too long before we met you guys." Eduard pulled her into a hug so fierce she nearly gagged. He loosened his grip and held the back of her head gently in his hand. She looked at him questioningly before she was drawn into yet another wonderful kiss. When they broke the kiss Eduard told her that she would never be abandoned by anyone ever again, and he would make sure that the man from before never showed up in front of her again. He pushed her away just enough so that she could look into his eyes properly.

"I um, don't have a ring yet but," he paused trying to find the right way to phrase how he felt.

"Yes," Elizaveta said; not letting him finish. He looked at her confusedly.

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes," Elizaveta repeated. "Yes, because I feel comfortable and safe when I'm with you. You make me feel happy and secure. You don't seem to be bothered by the apparent hole in my heart; instead you're trying to heal it. When you hold me I feel that I have the whole universe in my throat and I can control everything that goes on in it." The look remained on Eduard's face. "You were about to ask me if I would marry you, correct?" Eduard nodded. "Alright then, we can get the ring tomorrow." With that, Elizaveta left the room to make sandwiches. Eduard turned to Daina who was crawling around in her crib trying to find out why she couldn't get out.

"Your mother is a strange and wonderful person; I just wish I knew what she was thinking sometimes." He got up and joined Elizaveta in the kitchen.

()()()

Elizaveta couldn't take her eyes off her left hand at all during school the next day. The perfect shape of the jewel and the jewel itself just sent her to cloud nine.

"…veta, Elizaveta!" Elizaveta looked up from gazing at the ruby on her left hand. Peter sat in front of her with his hand shielding his eyes. "Honestly, it's great that you're getting married and all but, a little discretion would be nice." Elizaveta shot him a look.

"Do you want to taken off of the list of those who are invited to the wedding?" Peter shrugged and mumbled something about it not being the first wedding he ever attended. Elizaveta whacked him on the head with her wood mixing spoon. Peter hissed and rubbed his abused head.

"I honestly don't see what Ed sees in you." Elizaveta sighed and giggled.

"That's because you're still a child!" that got Peter fired up.

"I'm the same age you are!" Elizaveta nodded.

"True but, are you the one raising a child?" Peter hung his head and shook it.

"No."

"And are you the one getting married in two months?"

"No." Elizaveta smiled and patted Peter on the head.

"That's right. So, while we are the same age wise mentally, I am more mature." It was Peter's turn to give Elizaveta a look. Elizaveta shook her head knowingly.

"Dang it Eli, I seriously don't see how Ed could be attracted to you!" Peter cleared his place and walked off. Elizaveta smiled and shook her head as she did the same. In the classroom Mr. Héderváry was waiting for her. Instead of talking to her he just handed her a note to read while they waited for the rest of the class to file in.

To my dearest Lele,

I will be coming to pick you up from school to go to rehearsals. I hope you don't mind. I will have Daina with me and I'll come in as soon as the bell rings signaling the end of school.

Your loving fiancé,

Eduard Vabariik

Elizaveta smiled at the note and kissed it. In two months he would be writing 'Your loving husband' on his notes to her. Elizaveta glanced at the ring on her finger again and smiled. She hadn't believed that she could ever love like this at all. She couldn't wait for the bell to ring and when it did, as promised, Eduard, with Daina in his arms, knocked on the door to Mr. Héderváry's homeroom class, entered, and said,

"Elizaveta, we need to leave now." Elizaveta blushed, grabbed her bag, and went to him without any hesitation. When they were safely in the car with Daina carefully buckled into the baby seat, Eduard leaned over and placed a feather light kiss on Elizaveta's mouth and touched his forehead to hers. "Shall we go my love?" His love? Elizaveta thought in surprise. _He said that he loved me and that I was his? Oh!_ Elizaveta leaned her head against his chest and sighed.

"I am yours?" she asked silently. "You are claiming me as your own?" she felt Eduard nod.

"Yes," he murmured into her hair. "I am claiming you as my own. I love you and I will keep telling you this until it sinks in and even then I will keep telling you; I love you." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you." He kissed her cheek. "I love you." He captured her lips in a tender embrace. She sighed into the kiss and opened her mouth slightly; enough to let him slip his tongue in and remember everything about it; the way she tasted was a mixture of mint and strawberries and something else that he couldn't place; the way her tongue danced with his. Eventually they broke for air.

"I think we should get going now." Elizaveta said getting properly into her seat and pulling the seatbelt across her chest and lap. "Also," she took a breath. "I l – l – love y – y – you too," She managed to stutter out. Eduard chuckled and patted her on the head and drove off to the concert-hall. When they got there they were met with angry Germans shouting at each other. Mr. Svizzera was on Ludwig's side and Gilbert was by himself as usual. Elizaveta carried Daina over to the stage and sat down watching the men shout at each other. Finally, Gilbert snapped. He lashed out and smacked his brother across the face as tears welled up in his eyes.

"BRUDER DU DUMKOPF!" he shouted at the top of his lungs before running off to find Matthew. Daina found this display of emotion very amusing and clapped her hands.

"Du kof!" she exclaimed clapping her hands and giggling. Elizaveta's eyes went wide as she realized what her daughter had just said. Daina repeated the word. Tino, who was busy setting up the stage came running to Elizaveta with a worried expression on her face.

"Oh my goodness, did she just say what I think she just said?" to clarify things Daina decided to speak again.

"Du kof," Elizaveta and Tino moaned simultaneously. Apparently Daina was learning how to talk before she learned how to walk. Elizaveta couldn't believe that her child's first word was 'dumkopf'. Daina kept repeating that word for a good two minutes. When Ludwig came over to greet the infant she smiled at him and shouted 'DU KOF!' at the top of her little lungs. Ludwig chuckled slightly and admitted fault for her learning that word. He apologized to Elizaveta about his brother's little outburst and hoped for forgiveness; it was given. Elizaveta held Daina out for Ludwig to hold; he took her uncertainly but smiled when she was comfortably in his arms.

"Hallo, Liebling." He said rocking his arms side – to – side slightly. "Have muti and vati been taking good care of you?" when he saw the questioning look on Elizaveta's face, Ludwig translated the meaning of the words. After a while he handed Daina back to Elizaveta. The two women moved off the stage as Matt called Sadiq and Gupta to stage to work on the scene where Aladdin first discovers the Genie. Right when the music started for the Genie's song, the door to the auditorium swung open and two blonde men and one blonde boy entered. The appearances went like this; on the left stood a tall man with dancing blue eyes, unruly blonde hair that stuck up mainly to the left. He wore a long black trench coat with red cuffs and collar and brown boots. The one standing next to him was shorter, with tidier hair, and also had blue eyes. This one wore a blue sailor shirt and a matching blue knee length skirt and black, knee high, converse; even though he was dressed like this, Elizaveta gave him serious points for being able to pull it off so nicely. The last one was the shortest of the three; he had tousled hair, violet eyes, and a surly expression. He was wearing an open brown sweater, a white blouse underneath, brown dress pants, and white boots. He also seemed to be the youngest. Tino's face was a mixture of ecstasy and dread.

"Dann, Norge, Ari!" she shouted. The taller man turned to her and his face lit up like the sun.

"Tino, how are ya kid?" he said running up to her and tackling her into an embrace. Elizaveta giggled. This must be Dann. Tino wriggled out of his bear hug and gasped for air. Norge and Ari had joined them. Tino introduced Elizaveta to her cousins. Elizaveta was right; Dann was the tall one. Norge was the middle one and Ari was the child. Ari was looking at Daina with a confused look on his face.

"What's her name?" he asked.

"Her name is Daina Vabariik." Ari examined Daina's face and his eyes fell on her feet. She had kicked one bootie off while her other foot was still held captive by the remaining bootie. Ari took it off and examined her feet even further. After a minute of serious scrutinizing of Daina's feet he looked at Elizaveta.

"She has pretty feet and I am going to marry her." He said this as though the decision was final. To prove that he meant it, Ari bent down and kissed Daina. Tino was trying not to squeal. This was really too adorable for words. Elizaveta and pretty much everyone else who heard Ari's statement looked at him in great interest.

"Oh," Elizaveta said. "And how do you know that she won't choose someone else when she grows up?" Ari looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again,

"I will make sure she knows that she will be my wife. I will help you take care of her and I will protect her from any bad guys that come near her, and I will tell her that I love her every day." He stopped here and looked down at Daina. "Daina," he said. "You will be my wife someday so don't go off with any other man. You have pretty feet and I love you." Elizaveta turned to Tino.

"How old is he?" she whispered. Tino sighed.

"He's five. Most likely, he will forget this by the time he goes home. Ari is known for forgetting almost everything. You have nothing to worry about… but I do think that it is kind of cute. Ari doesn't usually like girls so I guess for him, this is a start." Dann rested a hand on Tino's shoulder. Elizaveta could tell that he was trying to retain his laughter (not). Norge walked up to them as Elizaveta let Ari sit with Daina in his lap in the row behind her.

"What Dann is trying to say, I think, is that seeing how Ari's father is the only brother of Tino's mom, Ari took after his father and grew up with high expectations in his choice of a partner." Elizaveta looked confused. Norge continued. "We thought that Mr. Jökull would never marry; because his expectations were too high and no woman he met ever lived up to those expectations." Elizaveta nodded though she was still confused. Dann started looking eagerly around the auditorium; Tino shoved him to the ground.

"Save it for someone who cares dumbass!" Dann continued to move his head in search for Berwald; that was Elizaveta's guess anyway. "He's probably hiding from you anyway." Dann turned away and sulked like child. Norge took this opportunity to introduce himself;

"My name is Norge Rosholt, I am twenty years old and I am full time house wife." He jabbed his thumb over to where Dann was immersed in a cloud of depression; indicating that it was Dann that he cooked and kept house for. Norge bent down and whispered into Elizaveta's ear; "in all honesty, I can't wait for him to move out again and start chasing other guys because, well, he comes home late every night drunk because of… hold on," Norge lifted his head to look at Tino. "What was that phrase you used to describe those dreams Dann has about your husband?" Tino shook her head and shot a death glare to Dann's back.

"Seksiunelmia vinttihuoneissa," Norge nodded at her.

"What she said. Anyway, know anyone who's looking for a nutcase?" Elizaveta shook her head apologetically.

"Nope, I'm sorry. The only man I know like that is currently recovering from a serious beating I gave him. He should be out of the hospital in about three weeks." Elizaveta said this so calmly and with such composure that Norge nearly fell down because of it. Daina laughed; it rang loud and clear throughout the auditorium as she shouted, "Du kof!" at the top of her voice again. Elizaveta looked behind her to see her daughter tugging on Ari's beautiful blonde hair. Ari didn't seem to mind it at all though. He laughed with her.

"No, no kærasta!" he said removing her hands from his hair. "If you pull on my hair now, I won't have any when we get married!" Ari looked up from his bride – to – be to Elizaveta. "Is there something we could do to make the betrothal official?" Elizaveta looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, I'm sorry. The only wedding traditions I can remember from Hungary are the celebrations leading up to the actual wedding." She looked at Eduard. "Are there any Estonian betrothal ceremonies that you can think of?" Eduard shook his head.

"I got an idea!" Toris came running up to them smiling. "Ari, take Daina's hands in your own and repeat after me." Daina's small hands were clasped. "Ready?" Ari nodded. "I, Ari Jökulsson, promise to take care of my beloved always." Ari repeated the words. "And when we are married, I promise to support, protect and cherish her and comfort her when she needs me." Ari smiled as he repeated the words; looking into Daina's face as he did so. Toris clapped his hands together. "Alright, you are now officially betrothed!" Elizaveta and Norge gave Toris a look. "If he believes it, that's all that matters." He whispered before running off to help Feliks with the costumes. Norge watched as Toris vanished behind the stage.

()()()

Standing in the park with a basket of tulips he stood; smiling at children and conversing with the birds and squirrels as they approached. His short, pale brown hair was spiked into a faux-hawk. His amber eyes dancing; all in all, he did not look like the type of man that anyone would get along well with, he didn't speak good English (he moved from Holland three months ago), and he was shy. Giving up, he sat on a nearby bench and watched the passersby. Wow, was the world so harsh that the people who lived in it ignored their surroundings? The man leaned back and rested his head on the backrest of the bench. He closed his eyes hoping that someone would come and claim a tulip. The spring breeze sent a scent of familiarity to his nose. It was the scent of a baby. He loved children and, where this park was filled with children, he had not yet seen an infant. He opened his eyes to find the source of the scent. A young woman with light, caramel brown hair and sapphire blue eyes was pushing a baby pram. Next to her trotted a young boy. The man smiled at the scene in front of him. The last time he had witnessed such a scene was when his younger sister visited him with her two children.

"Excuse me," the man blinked a few times. The woman was standing in front of him. The boy was gazing into the pram; talking to the babe in some Scandinavian tongue. "How much for one red tulip?" the woman asked. The man shook his head.

"Ik spreek niet goed Engels," He said in his native tongue. The woman giggled.

"Geen probleem," she said. "Ik spreek niet goed Nederlands," The man looked at her a bit shocked that she knew what he was Dutch. The woman corrected herself. "Sorry, ik spreek een heel klein beetje Nederlands." The man smiled at her. She didn't have the best accent in the world but he had heard worse and at least her pronunciation was good.

"It is alright," he said; his accent weighing on every word he spoke. "I come here three month ago. I am still learning." The woman nodded and smiled.

"So, how much for één," she held up one finger, "tulip?" he gave her one with red and yellow petals.

"It is free for you." She insisted on paying. "Then, één dollar," She could tell that he really needed the money and gave him three.

"Come with me," she said holding out her hand. "There is a community that would welcome you with open arms." She paused then asked, "Wat is Uw naam?" the man took her out – stretched hand.

"Mijn naam is Van den Broek, Zef." The woman smiled and giggled slightly.

"Mijn naam is Lietuva – ah, nee, Vabariik, Elizaveta." Zef asked Elizaveta why she said one name then changed it to another. "I am getting married in two months so I need to get used to using my husband's name." Zef nodded; he understood. He walked with Elizaveta to wherever she was taking him.

()()()

"Everyone," Elizaveta shouted as the reentered the auditorium. "I met someone in the park." Heads turned to see Elizaveta walk in with a man around Dann's height. Zef looked around nervously trying to figure out why Elizaveta had brought him here. "Guys, this is Zef Van den Broek, he moved here from Holland three months ago and his English isn't that good." Everyone present, Gilbert and Ludwig, Feliciano and Lovino, Feliks, Heracles, Sadiq and Kiku, Toris, Gupta, Raivis, Eduard, Dann, Norge, Berwald and Tino, swarmed to Zef. They introduced themselves and gave where they were from. Zef lightened up a bit when he realized that no one present was actually born in America. Elizaveta watched out of the corner of her eye as Dann made to grab Berwald but Tino beat him to it; bashing in his skull with all her might. Norge was watching this and was laughing mightily. Dann was giving Norge dirty looks and was pleading for Berwald to help him. Both men ignored the struggling Dane from his tiny cousin's wrath. Berwald actually got up and left Tino to kill Dann. After about four minutes of watching this, Elizaveta handed Daina over to Ari and walked with Zef to help Dann and calm Tino down. The Finn was fuming.

"I love the man I really do but sometimes I just want to knock his cranium in and see his blood pool about his body in gory splendor." Elizaveta nodded and walked with Tino back stage thankful that her friend didn't have her Pointe shoes with her. Zef knelt down cautiously next to Dann.

"Are U alright?" he asked hesitantly; his words were slurred by his accent. Dann raised his head to look at Zef. Zef felt his heart skip a beat. Dann's crystal blue eyes were red with tears and Zef could see the trail of dried ones on his cheeks. Unthinkingly, Zef reached out a hand and wiped Dann's tears away with his thumb. Dann stared at Zef and Zef, feeling instantly uncomfortable, jerked his hand away and looked anywhere but at the man in front of him. "Sorry." He said. Dann shook his head.

"Naw, it's alright. You are probably the only sympathetic soul in this entire room." Zef looked at Dann confusedly. He had only understood the first six words spoken. Dann shrugged and looked around the room. Norge was with Elizaveta and Tino watching Ari and Daina and everyone else was otherwise preoccupied. He was thinking of the best way to translate what he meant. A light bulb went off in his head. He took Zef's face in his hands and brought their faces together in a sweet, lingering kiss. Zef's eyes widened and he shoved the Danish man off of him.

"Wat?" Dann shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would like that. I was trying to tell you that you are the only one who cares about me." Zef blushed and looked down at the ground as he placed two fingers over his lips; remembering the kiss that happened not so long ago. He shook his head.

"I like Uw kus." Dann chuckled.

"The one I really want to kiss is my cousin's handsome husband but, seeing as he is married and only sees me as a pest, I can only dream." Zef took Dann's hand in his own and squeezed it gently.

"I am sorry. Maybe I help?" Zef's broken English was something of a blessing to Dann.

"Yeah," he mused. "Maybe you could.


	8. O1 DenmarkxNetherlands

Omake 1

The Love Issues of Dann and Zef

"Stop it!" Dann shouted pushing Zef away. "I don't know what to do or think anymore!" Zef took a step forward.

"I love U Dann! I love U! I don't care if U use me, all I want is for U to be happy. If Uw not happy it makes me want to take U in my arms and hold U until Uw happy once more."

"Shut up! Just be quiet! I – I love Berwald! I only used you for my own benefit! I don't _need _you!" Dann raged. Tears welled up in Zef's eyes.

"I love U only! Berwald has Tino! Dann, Uw my één und only!" Dann looked away from Zef.

"Shut up you moronic Dutchman! I hate you!" Zef only stood there in silence; choked by tears he could not speak, when he did, it came out as a strangled yell.

"U – Uw – Uw mean! Ik hou niet van dit!" Zef ran letting his simple words to stab at Dann's already guilt – filled heart. Everyone in the room watched as Berwald walked up to Dann and slapped him smartly across the face. Dann's knees gave out and he fell to the floor; his eyes were wide in horror at what he had just done. He had seriously made Zef cry, not sniffle, not play tears no, real tears: tears of heartbreak and despair. Dann looked up at Berwald.

"Don't lie Dann, you know and I know that you love him now, not me." Tino nodded in agreement. Everyone could see that Dann had been living in an illusion that he had built for himself.

"Go after him you jackass!" Elizaveta shouted walking toward him with Daina in her arms. "Go after him you idiot, and don't come back until you two have patched things up."

"Du kof!" Daina said cheerfully. Dann hung his head as he got to his feet. An infant, who couldn't even make proper sentences let alone walk, was calling him an idiot as well. He straightened up and smiled at Daina.

"Thanks kido," he said and ran after Zef. He tried to think; where would Zef be? The park. And, sure enough, when Dann got to the park he saw Zef sitting beneath a weeping willow with his head between his arms and knees sobbing uncontrollably.

Zef raised his head when he heard approaching footsteps. When he saw Dann standing over him, he wiped his eyes and smiled.

"U came after me." Dann dropped to his knees and embraced Zef.

"I hate you." Zef stroked the back of Dann's neck soothingly.

"Ja, I love U as well. I see that Uw very sorry." Dann nuzzled his head into the side of Zef's neck.

"How can you be so damn forgiving? I said all that mean and horrendous stuff to you and yet you cradle me in your arms the way Elizaveta cradles her babe." Zef continued to stroke Dann's hair.

"Één, I only understood één of tien word U said. I knew they were mean by the look on Uw face and the tone of Uw voice. Twee, I knew U no mean any of them." Dann sighed; Zef's broken English was indeed a blessing to him. Zef pulled Dann away but just enough so that they could look into each other's eyes. "Uw big idiot ja?" Dann nodded. "I love U and U love me ja?" Dann nodded again. Zef smiled and kissed Dann on the cheek.

"You missed." Dann said and placed a very passionate and love – filled kiss on Zef's lips. The kiss was short lived but neither man cared. Dann helped Zef to his feet.

"Hold me more?" Zef asked. Dann shook his head and Zef pouted. Dann smiled at that and took Zef's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"I'll hold you when we're alone." Zef brightened at the thought.

"I be on top ja?" Dann reddened. He had not thought of that at all. Not once. Not even when he was in love with Berwald. Dann whimpered slightly as he realized that Zef wasn't going to give up until he was given a satisfactory answer.

"Yeah, you'll be on top." Zef grinned from ear – to – ear as he pulled Dann closer to his side. _What is going to happen to me?_ Dann thought desperately to himself.

()()()

Dann wriggled slightly beneath the Dutchman as Zef strategically worked Dann's shirt over his head. Dann blushed and gulped. Somehow, this wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be. Zef lowered his head to Dann's neck and bit his flesh gently but still hard enough to make a love mark. He sucked the skin where he bit; running his tongue over the tooth marks that marked Dann's perfect skin. Dann moaned and tilted his head to the opposite side to allow Zef more access. Zef kissed down Dann's neck and across both shoulders while his hands brushed down the Dane's sides; eliciting soft, quick, breathy moans from the man. Zef lowered his head to Dann's chest and took one erect nipple into his mouth as he began to suck tenderly on it. Dann moaned loudly and deliciously as Zef's hand came up to tend to his other nipple; his other hand tracing patterns down the Dane's abdomen to his clothed crotch. Dann gasped and instinctively thrust his hips into Zef's eager hand as the Dutchman palmed at his lover's growing erection. Dann's breath caught in his throat as Zef moved his mouth to the other nipple and swapped hands so that the abandoned nipple could still get attention.

Dann squirmed as Zef gently slid his hand under the waistband of his pants and grabbed at the hardened member, trapped by boxers. Dann moved his hands up to Zef's chest to remove his shirt but Zef stood up and only unbuttoned his shirt; he took his pants off along with his boxers to reveal an enormous length. Dann inwardly shuddered at the thought of that being thrust into him. As Zef made his way back to Dann, Dann took off his own pants and boxers so that he was completely naked. He stared at Zef with half lidded eyes as he stroked himself; his other hand came up to brush across his chest and his abdomen as sweet and melodic gasps and whimpers and moans floated past his lips.

Dann released a strangled gasp and moan as he felt Zef's lips replace his hand on his cock. Zef licked precum from the head of his lover's member and gazed up at Dann as he took it whole into his mouth. Dann gasped and moaned and writhed in pleasure as Zef's warm mouth moved up and down his shaft and his tongue darted here and there adding torturous pleasure. Zef looked up to see the flushed face of his Danish lover as he came into his mouth. Zef grinned as he swallowed the salty essence. He trailed his fingers over Dann's exposed thighs as he placed a passionate, sloppy kiss on his lover's lips. Zef grinned when he felt that Dann was hard again. He ground his hips against the Dane's so that their erections brushed against each other; sending sparks through the other's body. Dann bucked his hips against Zef's wantonly; his face flushed and sweaty. Zef smiled down at his lover as he placed three fingers in front of Dann's face. Dann didn't need to be told before he took the digits into his mouth and began sucking on them hungrily; bucking his hips against Zef's, eliciting a deep, syrupy smooth, throaty moan from the Dutchman.

When Zef removed his fingers from Dann's mouth, the older man whimpered slightly. Zef only smiled as he started kissing down Dann's stomach, leaving a trail of love marks in the wake of his lips. Moving back up to look at Dann, Zef inserted one finger into Dann's entrance. Dann gasped roughly at the intrusion. It didn't feel _wrong_ per-say, just uncomfortable. Noticing the look on his lover's face, Zef began to move the finger – as well as a second – inside Dann. Dann thrust his hips against the fingers as the third one made its way in. Dann was thrusting violently down on the digits; taking them in deeper when…. Dann screamed. His eyes grew wide and his breathing quickened. Zef hit the spot again and Dann's voice carried through the bedchamber. Withdrawing his fingers, Zef used his own precum to slick his length before placing it at Dann's entrance.

"Are U ready Dann?" Zef asked his voice was coated thickly in his Dutch accent and ten times huskier. Dann nodded and brought Zef's head down so that he could kiss those tender lips.

"Don't… nn… ask… haa… stupid… ah… questions." Zef thrust himself into Dann until he was sheathed to the hilt. Dann's muscles constricted instantly around his lover's cock as he screamed in agony and pleasure.

Zef let his head fall back as he reveled in the heat of his partner.

"Uw so hot and tight Dann." He said through gasps of air. Dann shot him a dirty, sexy look.

"Move… please… make me… feel good." Zef was only too willing to oblige. He thrust into that hot tightness at a smooth, even pace that drove Dann insane. "Faster… Zef do it harder!" Zef reached down and placed Dann's legs over his shoulders as he pummeled into him_ over and over again hitting that sweet bundle of nerves that made Dann scream in ecstasy. Dann reached down to his own length and began stroking it at the same pace that Zef was thrusting into him. For the second time that evening Dann came: spraying his and Zef's abdomens with the thick, sticky, white substance. Zef came shortly after: filling Dann to the brim and overflowing. Dann smiled up at his lover as they both realized that they hadn't really gotten rid of their erections.

Zef ran his hands down to Dann's hips as his lips danced with the Dane's. Zef was sitting up and Dann was sitting on Zef's lap. Their erections brushing against each other: twitching with want. Dann lifted himself up and placed himself at the tip of his lover's twitching member and impaled himself down on it. He repeated this several times before quickening the pace and gasping as Zef started thrusting upward into his prostrate; making him scream in delight. The speed quickened even further and Dann arched his back and called Zef's name when he came and Zef called Dann's name when his seed was spilled into his lover's tight recesses once again. Zef got a ponderous look on his face when he noticed with glee that they were ready for a third round. Getting up he headed to the bathroom in search of something that might prove to make an interesting experiment. He found a bottle of shampoo in the shape of a wine bottle; hmm, let's get kinky shall we? He tossed the bottle into the air as he walked back to the bed.

Dann gave his boyfriend that dirty, sexy look and raised his ass in the air. Zef giggled at the fact that Dann knew what to do. Maybe the Dane was more perverted then he gave him credit for.

Running his hand up Dann's front, Zef played with his nipples as he thrust the head of the bottle into Dann's entrance. Dann arched his back as the cool plastic made contact with his hot insides: making him shudder in delicious pleasure. Zef thrust the bottle in as far as it would allow while listening to Dann's sweet, sweet moans and gasps. Dann's moans were more audible now than when they were going at it raw which led Zef to come to the conclusion that Dann enjoyed doing kinky things.

Moving his hand from Dann's chest, Zef let it wander down to his cock. The length twitched in his hand as Zef grasped firmly at the base; never once slowing his pace with his thrusts of the bottle. Dann moaned loudly as he felt his release be blocked. It was torture but oddly enough, it felt wonderful.

Zef leaned over Dann so that his stomach was flat against Dann's sweaty back, and began kissing Dann's shoulder blades; these proved to be an erogenous zone. Zef licked, sucked, and bit everywhere on those sinewy blades as he relentlessly thrust the bottle into his lover's ass, maintaining his grip on Dann's cock until he himself was ready for release. Letting go, the two men came together; both of them totally spent, and both of them finally tired. Collapsing on the bed and under the covers, Dann curled up in Zef's arms and nuzzled his head against Zef's chest.

"Jeg elsker dig." He whispered loud enough for Zef to hear. Zef stroked Dann's hair and kissed the top of his head.

"Ik hou, Dann." He said wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist and pulling him even closer.


	9. 7 Who Wants to Kidnap the Bride?

Chapter 7

Who Wants to Kidnap the Bride?

Tino and Elizaveta were out getting Elizaveta fitted for her wedding gown; a long, shimmery, winter blue, strapless gown that had a tapered waist and a long train. The bodice was white with blue flowers embroidered into it. The veil was the one Tino had worn for her wedding.

"You must wear it Lizzie!" Tino had exclaimed when they had picked out the dress. "You absolutely must wear my wedding veil. It would look so marvelous on you!" in the end, Elizaveta agreed to wear Tino's veil. She had also asked Tino to be her Maid of Honour. Of course, Tino agreed without hesitation. So, here she stood, on a foot stool waiting for the seamstress to come back from whatever she was doing; Tino standing next to her holding her hand. They didn't even have a church to hold the wedding in! Tino had told them not to worry; she and Berwald would take care of everything. Elizaveta couldn't help but worry. She didn't like surprises unless she was the one planning them. She felt Tino squeeze her hand.

"Lizzie, relax. I know what I'm doing and you will thank me for it!" Elizaveta whimpered.

"I can't help it," she moaned. "I'm scared!" Tino looked up into her friend's face.

"Understandable. All women are scared when they get married. I was terrified. I kept thinking 'what if he leaves me at the altar?' He never did. And besides, you have nothing to worry about! You are beautiful, kind, intelligent, and a kick – ass fighter." Elizaveta groaned. This wasn't what she needed to hear at the moment! One thing she did want to hear was Eduard's ringtone as it went off in her purse. Tino answered the call.

"Moi, Moi this is Tino Suu speaking!" Elizaveta heard Eduard laugh on the other end. "Yes, yes she is here getting fitted. Yes, no, after this we are getting shoes, no, no, oh for the love of – no. We will get Daina a little dress for the wedding so don't worry. Yes," Tino chuckled here. "She doesn't know a thing! I can't keep this a secret any longer! Yes, ooh Eduard when she finds out she will kill you! Yes I know; she loves you too. Look why don't you tell her that?" Tino handed the phone to Elizaveta. "Lover boy wants to talk to you." Elizaveta took the phone from Tino.

"Igen?"

"Hey Lele, I was just checking in to see how things were progressing."

"They're fine Ed; I'm just nervous and scared."

"Don't be scared love. Ma armastansind." Elizaveta raised an eyebrow at the last thing Eduard said. Hearing her silence, Eduard translated. "In Estonian 'ma armastansind' means 'I love you.'" Elizaveta smiled and Eduard could hear the smile in her voice as she said,

"Szerzetlzek darling." She chuckled when she heard the silence on Eduard's end. "I love you too." Eduard made a kissing noise over the phone before telling her to take care and hanging up.

()()()

Dann sat with Norge, Eduard, Ari and Daina in the coffee shop just three blocks away from where Elizaveta was being fitted. Ari was talking to Daina in Icelandic; no one knew what he was saying but Daina seemed to understand a little of what was being said at least because she kept making happy gurgling noises and thrust her hands up toward Ari's face. Dann sighed; Tino had Berwald, Eduard had Elizaveta, Ari had Daina and pretty much every other person in the theater group had a partner of some kind… well, except for Hera and Raivis. But, Raivis was proud of the fact that he was a bachelor and Hera's love issues were never over so really, it was just Dann who was suffering from unrequited love; Norge found that taking care of women, and men for that matter, troublesome. Dann got up from the table.

"I'm gonna take a snooze in the park." He told the others and left. He knew making advances on Berwald after he married Tino was a stupid move on his part but really, he didn't really expect Berwald to go through with the wedding. He growled under his breath. The day that the wedding was to take place the sky was filled with the Northern Lights. Greens, pinks, blues, and what seemed like reds stretched the expanse of the sky all the way to the spot where the wedding would take place. Dann was too caught up in his own misfortunes to notice where he was going so, one moment he's walking along the path to the park and the next; he's walking headlong into someone.

"I am sorry!" the person exclaimed. Dann looked up to find a certain Dutchman looking terrified. Dann straightened his back and put a hand on Zef's shoulder.

"No, it is I who should be sorry." He said. "I am the one who walked into you." Zef nodded he understood… sort of. Zef took Dann's hand in his own and the two of them walked hand – in – hand to the park. Dann was surprised, to say the least, when Zef had taken hold of his hand but, he made no effort to relieve his hand from Zef's grasp; Zef actually had pretty soft hands for a guy that looked like he had been an army surgeon. The scar over Zef's left eye added to that look. When the two men were finally seated on one of the parks many benches, Zef looked straight into Dann's eyes.

"I want a kus please." Dann stared back at Zef and blinked several times. Zef tried asking again. "I want Uw kus please." Dann shook his head trying to process what Zef was asking. Zef took the shake of Dann's head as a 'no' and started sniffling. "Ok," he sniffled. "Je kuste me at the… at the…" Zef broke off trying to find the word for 'theater' in English. Dann turned to look at Zef again when he heard the other man start to cry. Oh boy! He took Zef's face in his hands yet again and turned his head so that they were facing each other.

"I never said that I wouldn't kiss you, I was just trying to figure out why me?" Zef cocked his head to the side and looked at Dann as though it were obvious.

"I like U and, U like me?" Dann dropped his chin to his collarbone still holding Zef's face. When he looked back up he noticed that Zef was trying to hold back tears. Dann reached with his thumb to wipe them away before they fell.

"Sssh, Sssh." Dann whispered feeling slightly awkward. "I will give you a kiss but answer me one thing before I do." Zef nodded. "How old are you?" Zef looked at the Dane confusedly. Dann repeated the question.

"23," Zef said. "Why do U… Mmf!" Dann had silenced Zef with a swift kiss.

"Don't ask stupid questions." Dann said before kissing Zef again; this time the kiss was longer. Dann felt a little guilty about using Zef's emotions like this but Zef didn't seem to know or care. Dann broke the kiss first. He couldn't lead Zef on anymore than he had already. He didn't want Zef to get his hopes up just to have them shattered and leave him heartbroken. Zef looked at Dann.

"Why U stop?" he asked innocently. Dann looked at him with a hint of pain in his eyes. "Are U OK? Wat is wrong?" Dann shook his head.

"It doesn't feel right. I like you but I don't love you. It feels wrong for me to use your feelings for me like this; I don't want to hurt you." Zef held Dann's hands in his and squeezed firmly.

"U use me to make U feel better?" Dann nodded. Zef smiled. "If I make U feel good U can use me all U want ja?" Zef pulled Dann into an embrace. "I help U feel good and U kus me ja?" Dann stared at the Dutchman with an unreadable expression on his face. Was he saying that in exchange for lifting his spirits, Zef's 'payment' would be a kiss or two? Or was he saying that he should kiss Zef to feel better? Did Zef even know what he was talking about?

"If I kiss you more than I have already I might actually fall in love with you." Dann mumbled under his breath. Zef squeezed Dann slightly.

"U fall in love with me and I love U all days." Dann groaned.

"Damn!" Zef was innocent and devious at the same time and Dann had fallen into his trap. Zef chuckled slightly as he felt Dann collapse in his arms. This was fun!

()()()

Elizaveta felt like screaming. Tino had dragged her into so many shoe stores that her feet hurt. At last, Tino gave up. Her complaint was that Elizaveta had 'impossible feet.'

"Honestly Lizzie! Every shoe we tried on was either too big or too small! What size are your feet anyway? 5¼? That size doesn't even exist does it? Where did you get the shoes you're wearing now?" Elizaveta sighed as she told Tino about the shoemaker in Hungary and how he nearly went insane trying to make her the perfect shoe. Ah, fond memories indeed. The old man had to make a mold of her foot so that he could work on her shoes without keeping her there over night. By the time the shoes were finished, the old man had told her,

"You are blessed and cursed with those feet of yours. Men will love them and women will envy them however, you will never find any shoe store that holds your size. I wish you luck." Tino sighed. That old man wasn't kidding. The store clerks were pulling their hair out trying to find a shoe that fit Elizaveta's feet. A light bulb went off in Elizaveta's mind. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Igen; yes, it is me, Elizaveta." Tino stared at Elizaveta. What the hell was she saying? Some of it sounded as though it might be Finnish but really, it mostly sounded like gibberish! "I missed you too old man! Listen, can you have a pair of white shoes with winter blue flowers embroidered into them for me by the end of next week?" silence fell for a full 2 minutes before Elizaveta spoke again. "Yes, it is my wedding in two weeks and I need these shoes as soon as possible." More silence. "Oh thank you!" Elizaveta hung up the phone and did a mini tap dance on the spot. Tino's look of utter befuddlement remained plastered on her face.

"What the hell was that all about?" she demanded. "What in Suomi's good name is going on here?" Elizaveta smiled radiantly at her best friend.

"I got the shoemaker to make me wedding shoes!" Tino's jaw hit the floor. A few seconds of pure shock induced silence wafted in with the breeze before Tino shut her mouth only to open it again.

"WOOHOO!" she trilled twirling around with her hands in the air. She and Elizaveta hopped up and down in excitement and embraced each other. Everyone around the two girls just stared as they passed.

Tino and Elizaveta drove off at full speed back to the concert hall and burst through the doors with a BANG! The sound stopped everything. Sadiq was trying remain "levitated" by the invisible wire that was part of the stage set up and Gupta was standing over Hera who looked as though he had just tripped or fallen over, Matt had shocked and pissed off expression scribbled over his face, Ludwig and Feliciano looked like they were about to "get somewhere" before the interruption, Uncle Mags had scotch spilling from his shot glass onto his starched white shirt, Toris had stabbed his finger with the sewing needle that he held in his hand, and Feliks had cut a wrong line in the article of clothing that she was altering. Everyone mentioned turned their attention to the female duo at the entrance of the auditorium.

"WE GOT SHOES!" Tino shouted at the top of her lungs. Every male in the room felt a weight of one hundred tons knock them sideways; every male except two, Maggie and Toris. They looked at Tino in shock and ran up to her and Elizaveta.

"Where on Earth did you find shoes that fit?" they chorused. Tino chuckled manically.

"Hungary." Maggie's mouth hit the floor.

"You mean Hun called that old man shoe maker?" Uncle Mags coughed out. "How the hell is he planning on getting them here on time?" Toris sighed and collapsed onto the nearest seat.

"That old geezer never gets anything done on time! Remember the last pair of shoes that he made you? We said have them done in two weeks; he got them done in three." Elizaveta whacked her brother over the head with her spoon.

"Those were boots you nimrod! He even called us to tell us that they wouldn't be finished by the deadline!" Elizaveta continued to assault Toris' head with her spoon until Feliks came to his rescue.

"Thanks Fe," he said cradling his head in his hands. Feliks got up on tiptoe and placed a small kiss in his hairline. "Aš myliu tave," Toris said taking her hand and walking back to the workshop with her. They left Maggie staring at the two women in stunned silence. Hungary was all the way across the globe and Toris was right, the old shoemaker wasn't always reliable when it came to making the deadline yet, Elizaveta seemed convinced that he would make the date. Well, he better make the date; if he didn't, Uncle Mags would see to the dismantling of that little shop himself. Maggie reached up and patted Elizaveta's head. This would be the ultimate test of the old man's abilities and he better not screw up!

The activity in the auditorium had built up again even more intensely than before. Elizaveta couldn't be sure but it appeared to her that – even though they were acting – Hera was trying to seriously flirt with Gupta. Was this because he had been rejected so harshly by Sadiq or had he actually tried to move on and find someone new? Well, whatever the case may be, Elizaveta was sure that Sadiq was performing a happy dance in his head at the moment. Speaking of Sadiq, did he not get queasy hanging in mid air like that? Were the wires so sturdy that they acted like a swing; to only move when the person they supported moved? The thought made Elizaveta's stomach turn somersaults. Looking at the stage, Elizaveta wondered if Matt would call her up to rehearse her part or was he just going to have her wing it on the night of the performance. She had been practicing the song and her few measly lines in her spare time but, that didn't mean she could improvise! Now, we all know what happens when one is lost deep in thought about something totally irrelevant; people walk into walls, they walk into other people, they walk off cliffs, etc. However, none of this happened to Elizaveta. No, this is what happened to her. As Elizaveta made her way over to where Eduard was sitting with Ari and Daina, she felt an immense weight fall on her shoulders and push her down. Flipping over onto her back she looked up to find Seth standing over her looking immensely pleased with himself. He began to bathe her face in wet, tiger kisses. He stopped when she placed a hand on his chest and stood up. Seth sat down and let Elizaveta hug him and wipe his kisses off in his fur. After the greetings had been made, Seth trotted after Elizaveta to join Eduard, Ari and Daina. Ari got up instantly and stepped in front of Daina to protect her.

"Ari," Elizaveta said soothingly. "This is Seth. He's the one who helped me find Daina." As if to confirm what Elizaveta said, Daina squealed joyously and reached out her tiny hands toward the tame beast. Seth began to purr as he smelt the all too familiar scent of the babe who had assaulted his ears on their first meeting. She did it again. When Seth was close enough to the child to be touched by her, she jammed her hands into his ears and screamed in delight as Seth let out a disgruntled sigh. Daina then proceeded to pull at Seth's ears while laughing adorably. Seth would have killed any other human had they pulled his ears but, this kit was under his mistress's care and he didn't want to see his mistress upset so he opted for nudging the child with his wet muzzle. Ari watched with suspicious eyes as his wife – to – be played so lovingly with the tiger.

"He really won't hurt her will he?" he asked Elizaveta. Elizaveta shook her head.

"He's a really sweet tiger who would only hurt those who intended to do harm to those he loves; he loves Daina a lot. I bet he would even die for her if it came down to it." Ari groused under his breath.

"I can't believe it, my rival is a tiger!" Elizaveta laughed quietly and she put her hand on Ari's small shoulder.

"No, Seth is not your rival." She told him. "He is your partner in raising her. I may be her mother and Eduard may be her father, but no one can take the place of those who aren't family. Trust me, she will go to you when she is mad at me, she will curl up with Seth when she wants to be alone. You two are the ones that will need to work together to make sure she is happy when Eduard and I have failed. Can I count on you to do that for me?" Ari looked from Elizaveta to Daina; Seth was bathing her feet in tender kisses. As much as Ari wanted to say that Daina was his, he had to admit that she was as much his as she was Seth's and Elizaveta was right, Seth did love her. What other tiger would let an infant kick her feet into their nose and let her live? Ari walked over to the tiger and held his hand out for the creature to sniff. Before sniffing Ari's outstretched hand, Seth looked at Elizaveta for approval. Elizaveta nodded. Seth sniffed. His ears twitched and he started purring. Seth approved as well.

()()()

He whistled as he hopped off the plane. A small box was held in his right hand and a moderately sized duffle bag hung from his left hand. He smiled jovially as he walked toward customs. He didn't trust overseas delivery so he decided to travel over himself to deliver the merchandise. He had contacted the elder sister because he wanted the young bride to be surprised when she saw him. He tightened his grip on the box. He had gotten the shoes done by the deadline exactly and he wanted his little warrior maiden to have the best wedding possible.

As the car sped on, the old man conversed with the older sister; catching up on years missed.

()()()

As she stood atop the stage singing along to a recording Arthur had made for her, Elizaveta heard her phone ring from the audience. She was pardoned.

"Igen?" she answered. "Yes, we are rehearsing at the moment... A surprise for me? Ok. Love ya too Nat." wondering what her surprise could be, Elizaveta climbed back onto the stage only to be mauled by Seth. The gentle feline couldn't remain seated while Elizaveta sang. To Seth's ears and in Seth's mind, his mistress was singing a mating song. If only he knew.

"Elizaveta!" the joyous cry came from backstage. Elizaveta frowned; she recognized that voice. The old man stepped out from behind the curtain followed by Natalia. He was carrying a small box wrapped in a blue ribbon. Elizaveta was overjoyed.

"Old man!" she exclaimed in Hungarian and hugged him. The old man handed her the box; she opened it. Inside she found a pair of incredibly tiny snow-white shoes with blue bells stitched into them by extremely skilled hands. Elizaveta kicked of the shoes she was wearing and placed the new ones on her feet. They fit like a charm. She did a quick dance to get a good feel of the shoes before taking them off and placing them back in the box. For the next hour and a half, Elizaveta and the old man spoke in Hungarian to each other; catching up on years passed and what was going on now. The old man took Elizaveta's hand in his own.

"I wish you great wealth on your wedding day," he said as he handed her a small coin purse. Elizaveta chuckled.

"Thanks old man, I'll need it!" she hugged him yet again and left to continue rehearsing. The wedding would be wonderful!

()()()

The wedding was boring. Or, at least the wedding rehearsal was boring. Elizaveta sat in the car of the carriage that she was to ride in the next day looking extremely grumpy and holding a sleeping Daina. The rehearsal seemed to go too smoothly for her liking. The carriage was where she had escaped. Tino had told her that her wedding would be very exciting but, it was as "exciting" as listening to white noise. Man, whatever Tino was planning, Elizaveta knew that she wouldn't like it.

Knock, knock. Elizaveta turned her head to see Eduard climbing into the carriage to join her and their sleeping child. He slid in and sat down next to her.

"Don't worry," he said. "The wedding will feel much more romantic than this." Elizaveta rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oh Ed, I don't know what to think. Tino said that this would be 'unforgettable' and 'so exciting that you'll kill me when it's over.'" Eduard just smiled and started braiding Elizaveta's hair.

"Don't worry; the wedding will be just fine and much more romantic." Elizaveta sighed.

"Why do I have a feeling that I really am going want to murder Tino when the wedding is over?" Eduard chuckled but said nothing. After about ten minutes of silent cuddling resulting with two napping females Eduard decided to take them home. After tucking Daina into her crib, and gently tucking Elizaveta under the covers, Eduard prepared for bed himself. Tomorrow, Tino's head wouldn't be the only one rolling.

()()()

Tino watched carefully from the sidelines as she watched Natalia and Elizaveta exit the house. Elizaveta climbed into the carriage and Natalia got into her car after wishing her baby sister the best of luck. Uncle Mags, the carriage driver, looked in Tino's direction and winked. Tino nodded. She pulled out her cell phone. She pressed speed dial.

"Alright guys, she's in." She whispered into the phone before closing it. A mile from the church Sadiq closed his phone as well. He gave the guys the thumbs up.

"Tino's sure that Lele doesn't know about this right?" Gupta asked as Heracles cuddled up to him. Sadiq nodded and held a finger to his lips.

()()()

Elizaveta smiled at Daina in her lap. Eduard had been right; this did feel more romantic. Daina smiled at her and together, they watched the scenery go flying by. When Elizaveta felt the carriage pull to a stop a block from the church she wondered what was wrong.

"Uncle Mags?" she asked hesitantly poking her head out the window. Uncle Mags no longer sat in the driver's chair. Sadiq, who had taken his place, was busy turning the carriage around. Elizaveta felt her blood boil as she felt a weight fall on the back of the carriage but, before she turned around to see, the door opened and in stepped Hera, Gupta, and Berwald. She quickly stole a glance out back. Feliciano and Ludwig saluted her before turning their backs to her yet again. Elizaveta held Daina close to her as Sadiq pulled the carriage to a stop in front of the barn behind the church's cemetery. He hopped off and poked his head in.

"Sorry Lizzie, ye'll just have to wait here fer a while." For the sake of her daughter and the wedding gown, Elizaveta held her temper but instead, flipped Sadiq the finger and gave him the worst death glare she could. Sadiq then flipped his phone open and sent a quick text.

Got her.

()()()

At the church another phone was opened to receive said text. A smile spread over an eager face; show time.

()()()

Elizaveta was really angry, pissed off, fuming with rage, and ready to kill by the time she heard the whir of an engine. She perked up. Did this mean she was safe? She shot every male in the vicinity an icy stare before raising her skirts from the ground with one hand and running with Daina in the other to see a white car pull onto the dirt drive. The car door opened and out stepped,

"Eduard!" Elizaveta shouted in rage as her bride – groom walk – ran up to her. "Tino was right; I am going to murder her." Eduard smiled at her, winked at the guys and got Elizaveta into the car to drive her to the church. When they got there, all the guests were waiting and cheering. Eduard and Elizaveta grabbed hands and ran into the church and down the aisle; Daina was brought in by Tino. When everyone was settled and Elizaveta wasn't angry anymore, the wedding began. The rest of the wedding went without calamity or anymore planned surprises until Elizaveta said 'I do.' The door to the church flew open with a bang. An icy chill spread through the small building as all heads turned in the direction of the disturbance. The chill intensified as the man with violet eyes walked calmly down the aisle. He was dressed in his best and wore a beige scarf loosely around his neck. When he reached the couple he stopped; his eyes were a perfect example of heartbroken rage.

"Vetya don't." He said. It wasn't a request. "You will not. I will not allow it!" Elizaveta's face was quite calm as she took the rings from the pillow and slipped the bigger one over Eduard's finger and the smaller one on her finger. Looping her fingers through Eduard's she grasped his hand and walked around Ivan.

"Let's go Ed." She and Eduard had made it halfway up the aisle before Eduard staggered and lost his balance. Ivan had palmed him in the back of the head; rendering him immobile for a short amount of time. Elizaveta whirled on Ivan; her eyes blazing with the fire of Hell.

"Ivan," she said with intent to kill present in her voice. "I thought I told you to not show your face around me until you were ready to move on. Did you not hear what I said? Did Seth not wound you hard enough? Did I need to break your spine? I don't understand. What part of the word 'no' don't you get? Is it not in your vocabulary?" Natalia had gone over to tend to Eduard while Uncle Mags went over to stand by Elizaveta. Ivan reached out to touch Elizaveta's cheek but her foot made contact with the side of his head before he could lay a finger on her. Ivan lay there, crumpled before her, unconscious with blood trickling down the side of his skull where Elizaveta's foot had made contact. Eduard had regained movement and was trying to escort a teary eyed wife out of the church along with the rest of the frazzled guests.

In their room, Elizaveta clung to Daina and sobbed. Her wedding had been ruined and it was entirely that bastard's fault! Daina looked up at her mother's distraught face and patted her cheek with a small hand. If Elizaveta didn't stop crying soon then she would cry as well. Eduard came in before the day got any worse.

"Lele, come with me. I have called off the reception until further notice." Cradling Daina carefully in her arm, Elizaveta took Eduard's hand and walked with him into the family room. The lights had been dimmed and Mozart was playing in the background. Elizaveta sniffed and wiped her eyes on her arm. Eduard turned to face her. Wrapping one arm around her waist he pulled her to him so that Daina was in-between them. Closing the distance that separated the other half of their bodies, Eduard placed his other hand on his wife's neck and started rocking back and forth to the gentle music. Elizaveta followed Eduard's movements and both of them looked down at Daina; she looked right back up at them and smiled. What a joy it was to have a child, a loving partner, and friends who would listen to her story when all of this was over. Elizaveta sighed as she and Eduard rocked back and forth to the music for the next hour.


	10. 8 Broken Plate and Fortune Telling

Chapter 8

Broken Plates, Coin Purses and Fortune Telling

Eduard, Elizaveta, and Daina made it to the wedding reception without any more problems. Everyone was there to wish them well. A few chinks of metal later and dinner was served; all the food in the world was there (almost literally)!

Things had calmed down significantly until the doors to the banquet hall flew open and a woman with shoulder length brown hair and startling green eyes came barging in; she carried two toddlers in her arms.

"Oudere broer!" she shouted as she marched toward the table where Zef, Dann, Ari, Norge, and Seth sat. The woman placed one child on Norge's lap and transferred her hold on her other child to one arm she then reached with her free arm to grab at Zef's shirt collar. "U idiot, why don't U have a cell phone? I have tried to contact U ever since U moved here so that I could move in with U! When I asked the locals if they had seen U they pointed in dis direction!" tears were streaming down the woman's face and Zef looked scared out of his mind. Dann was giving Zef a look that said, 'If you don't tell me what's going on this minute, I'm breaking it off with you.' The woman saw the look.

"I am Zef's youngerzuster, Mooie and these are my children Van dem Broek Han Rik and Eerlijk."

"If you are Zef's younger sister," said a voice from behind. "Why is the children's last name the same as their Oom?" Mooie turned around and came face to face with Elizaveta and Eduard. "Also, why are you here? This is supposed to be my wedding reception." Mooie glanced at the child in Elizaveta's arms.

"The children were born after my husband died so I gave them my maiden name. Oudere broer didn't mind." Zef shook his head; still under the suspicious eye of Dann. "And," Mooie continued. "The reason that I am here is because Zef doesn't have a cell phone and I have been trying to get in touch with him for the past three weeks now." Elizaveta nodded.

"We were just about to continue with the celebration so, if you wish to stay, you may." Mooie smiled gratefully and took a seat with her brother and punched him in the arm.

"U idiot!" she scoffed.

()()()

Mooie got along surprisingly well with Norge. For a man who seemed wholly uninterested in any kind of relationship, he seemed to have no problem at all conversing with a recently widowed woman with two children. The conversation topics varied as the evening wore on.

"Mooie," Norge said as he watched Han Rik pick food off of his mother's plate and Eerlijk climbed onto his shoulders. "How did your husband die? I'm sorry, I'm being insensitive but, I am also curious." Mooie's smile fell slightly.

"No, it is ok," she said wiping sweet and sour sauce from Han Rik's face. "My husband died in the war. We had only been married 5 years but it felt longer." Han Rik crawled from Mooie's lap to Norge's; he held up his hands to Norge and smiled.

"Vader!" Mooie blushed profusely and retrieved her child.

"I am so sorry! Han Rik and Eerlijk have only ever seen pictures of their vader so, I am sorry." Norge chuckled. He was a proud bachelor and wasn't planning on getting married anytime soon.

"It's OK. I'm not much of a 'father' type figure but I guess I could be an 'uncle.'" Mooie giggled and turned Han Rik in her lap to look into his eyes.

"How does that sound Han Rik, Eerlijk? Goed? Niet goed?" Han Rik grinned up at his moeder and laughed.

"Oom Vader!" the children chorused

"No, Han Rik! No, Eerlijk!"

"Ja," Han Rik and Eerlijk laughed in ignorant childish delight.

"Norge is maar papa!" Eerlijk declared hugging Norge's head lovingly. Mooie blanched. Norge didn't look anything like her late husband except for the blonde hair and the blue grey eyes. Mooie lowered her head to floor and refused to look at Norge.

"I am so sorry!" Mooie sniffed. "I have no idea why they insist that Uw their vader." Han Rik and Eerlijk were only three years old; Mooie could only use that as an excuse for their insistence. Just before Norge could say anything however, a loud CRASH resonated through the room. All heads turned toward the table where Elizaveta, Eduard, Natalia, Uncle Mags, and Toris were sitting. Next to Natalia, in three clean pieces, was one of the plates. In response to the confused looks that she received, Elizaveta explained the situation.

"It is a tradition that a female relative of the bride balance a plate on her head and, when the plate falls, the bride and her relative count the shards to see how many children the couple will be blessed with." Eduard wrapped an arm around his wife's waist and kissed her lightly on the forehead; he kissed Daina on her forehead as well. A sweet silence followed as everyone went back to their meals and conversation.

Norge looked around the room to see how the others were interacting. Gupta, Sadiq, Heracles, and Kiku were actually having a civil sit-down meal in which no bones or hearts were broken. At another table Feliks sat alone; her dinner companions had left to go sit with their German boyfriends. Toris, seeing his girlfriend sitting by herself, decided to keep her company for the remainder of the evening. At his own table, Norge found Zef fast asleep on Dann's shoulder and Ari curled up in Seth's soft fur on the floor. Excusing himself from the table, Norge went outside to sit beneath the stars.

"Uw going to get cold sooner or later," Norge turned slightly to see whom it was that was talking to him. "Why don't U go back in?" Mooie sat down with sleeping twins in her arms. She rested one child on her lap and handed the other to Norge. She leaned back on her elbows and gazed up that the blanket of stars that covered the evening sky.

"It's only mid March," Norge replied running his fingers through Eerlijk's hair. "It's not that cold out." Mooie laughed lightly as Han Rik rolled over in her lap.

"No, but it is still a little chilly." Norge shrugged. He didn't really care about the weather; it wasn't something that he could control anyway.

"So what's a little nip in the weather?" he said nonchalantly. "It's not like it'll be this way forever right?" Mooie sighed and scooted closer to him.

"Why are U so distant?" she asked averting her eyes from the sky to look at him. Norge shrugged and rested his back on the grass; placing Eerlijk on his chest as he did so.

"I've never been in a relationship. My cousin Dann is usually in a state of emotional unbalance and it is generally my job to keep house for him and keep him fed so I don't always have a chance to 'get out' if you know what I mean." Mooie shook her head.

"Nee, I do no know wat U mean." Norge sighed.

"It is rather difficult to explain but, when you are taking care of someone who is emotionally unstable, you don't really get time to spend by yourself because you worry if the person that is in your care will be alright." Mooie nodded hesitantly.

"I think maybe, I understand little bit now."

"Yeah," Norge sighed. "But Dann has Zef now and he seems happy enough. I just hope nothing happens to make him miserable again." Norge closed his eyes as Mooie put a hand on his shoulder.

"Zef is like child; he likes attention and love. Zef is also like adult; he is aware of those he loves and will do wat he can to never make loved one sad or hurt. I am same way." Norge smiled, his eyes still closed.

()()()

Elizaveta pushed Daina in her pram as she walked with Seth and Ari around the park. Taking advantage of the fine weather, Elizaveta had decided to spend the day relaxing while Eduard planned their honeymoon. He had told her that it was to be a surprise and that she was not to know anything until the day of. Elizaveta let her imagination run wild at all the possibilities; was he taking her home to Hungary or maybe taking her to his home country of Estonia? Maybe both; was it going to be a world adventure or perhaps something more local? She had to keep herself from bombarding her husband with too many questions but she just couldn't help it; she was never good at handling secrets!

A tug on her sleeve brought Elizaveta out of her thoughts. Ari was thirsty and Daina seemed to be as well. Laughing slightly, Elizaveta handed the small boy a few dollars and told him to go to the street vendor for a nice drink while she herself began preparing a bottle of baby formula for Daina.

"Darling Elizaveta, iz zat you?" Elizaveta looked up to see who was talking to her. A girl with raven black hair and mocha dark eyes stood before her hunched at the waist with her hands on her hips.

"Sesel, is that you?" Elizaveta asked unsure if this beauty before her was truly the chubby little girl that she had befriended one fine summer vacation in Hungary. The girl stood upright and a stuck a pose that said "look at me I am fabulous!"

"Darling Elizaveta, could it possibly _be _anyone else _but_ ze fabulous moi?" Elizaveta laughed as she brought the bottle to Daina's lips. "Ooh! Darling Elizaveta, who is zis adorable little child?" Still sucking on the bottle, Daina looked up at the newcomer and blinked several times. Elizaveta smiled fondly at her.

"She is my daughter, Daina Vabariik." Sesel clapped a hand over her mouth and gasped.

"Darling Elizaveta, how did zis happen? Do you know who ze fahzer is?" Sesel looked so frightened that Elizaveta had to comfort her.

"Sesel, she is not mine from birth but by adoption. I am married however so the child does have a father, also…" Elizaveta looked around the park before motioning for Sesel to lower her head once more. Elizaveta blushed as she brought her lips to Sesel's ear and whispered a truth of great joy. For the second time Sesel clapped her hands over her mouth and gasped.

"Are you quite sure?" Elizaveta smiled and nodded as warmth flowed deep within her chest.

"Quite sure of what Elizaveta?" A girl of average height with short blond hair and dancing green eyes came walking up to them followed by Ari who was carrying an empty cup by his side. Elizaveta handed Daina over to Ari so that he could finish feeding Daina her bottle.

Elizaveta and Sesel gave the newcomer a rundown on what was going on.

"Oh Elizaveta! You must be so happy!" Lieselotte exclaimed. "What with a charming husband and a…" Elizaveta and Sesel clamped their hands over Lieselotte's mouth – knowing that the next thing out of the woman would have been a total breech of secrecy.

"Lieselotte Svizzera, you shall tell no one of this do you hear me?" Elizaveta told her childhood friend. Lieselotte nodded, her mouth still covered by the hands of her to best friends. When the hands were removed Lieselotte grabbed a much-wanted breath of air.

"Mein Gott Elizaveta, Sesel! I nearly passed out due to lack of air!" Lieselotte feigned fainting. When Lieselotte got back on her feet the three friends laughed. Elizaveta got up after a few minutes and tucked Daina back into her pram; Ari went to wake Seth from his long nap.

"Would you two like to come with me to the theater?" Sesel and Lieselotte exchanged hopeful glances.

"Oh, may we?" Elizaveta laughed slightly.

"But of course you may!"

The theater was relatively empty except for Matt, Gilbert, Francis, Mr. Svizzera, Arthur and Eduard. When Elizaveta entered with her friends and Ari and Seth, Sesel screamed. All heads turned to see who was causing such a ruckus.

"Cousin Francis?" Sesel managed to squeak. Her surprised look only lasted a mere second before it turned into one of pure malice. "You perverted old man!" she raged as she stormed up to him and punched squarely in the gut. Lieselotte and Elizaveta came up to their friend to see what had caused Sesel to punch Francis the way she did.

"Francis Epine, the eldest son of my mother's sister and a total perv! On more than one occasion he has spied on me in the bath, groped me mercilessly, and has a habit of stalking me; NOT NORMAL!" Sesel deemed this explanation due for another fist to the abdomen. By now Elizaveta and Lieselotte were clutching their sides with much raucous laughter. Francis stared at his niece.

"Sesel?" he asked sounding a bit slow. Sesel glared at him. Francis's face broke into a gleeful smile as he pounced; tackling her into an embrace which made her blood run cold. Arthur snorted and pointed a finger at his friend.

"Pedophile," Francis pouted and squeezed Sesel's waist for comfort.

"In my defense, Sesel is eighteen." He said as though that solved all problems. Sesel elbowed him in the gut.

"And in _my _defense, I was five and you were sixteen when you started sexually harassing me so, in light of _zat,_ you _are_ a pedophile." Sesel made her escape as Francis moaned in pain. Francis turned to Mr. Svizzera for help.

"Vash, help me; my little Sesel doesn't love me!" The room went quiet as Lieselotte and Elizaveta stopped laughing. Lieselotte walked up to Mr. Svizzera and looked at him timidly.

"Bruder?" she asked. Mr. Svizzera looked up. Lieselotte's eyes shone in delight as she flung her arms around Mr. Svizzera's neck.

"Hey Liesle, I missed you." he said as Lieselotte positioned herself to sit across her brother's lap. Elizaveta took this opportunity to sit with Daina next to Eduard. Matt and Gilbert came down from the stage to join the interesting reunion. Matt's arm was wrapped possessively around Gilbert's waist.

"Well," Matt said sitting in one of the empty seats and pulling a blushing Gilbert onto his lap. "I think we all learned something today." Elizaveta snorted.

"Yeah, what?"

"Well, we all knew that Francis was a perv so that's nothing new but, I did not know that he was a pedophile _and_ a cousin." Matt turned to Sesel. "I am so sorry for you my dear." Then Matt turned his attention to Mr. Svizzera. "And I had no idea that you were an older brother." Speaking to Lieselotte he said. "You are quite blessed to have a brother that will protect you." Silence followed for a full three minutes in which everyone watched – for really, they had nothing better to do – Matt run his fingers through Gilbert's pretty silver locks. When the time reached four minutes and Matt still hadn't stopped and Gilbert's slight moans and whimpers were becoming more and more frantic, everyone thought it best to just leave them to be by themselves. Sesel ran out as to be sure that Francis wouldn't catch her, Mr. Svizzera gave Lieselotte a piggy back ride out, and Elizaveta and Eduard walked with Ari and Seth as Elizaveta pushed Daina in her pram. Only Arthur stayed behind in the hallway in front of the auditorium. He still held some feelings for Elizaveta though they were waning bit – by – bit.

"Ah Matt, ngh – n – no – not here! I – ah! Ahn – oh! Nn, ah haa – ah!" Arthur blushed and realized that he should get going. Taking off at a rather fast paced walk, Arthur made his way to the park.

He sat down on a bench and rested his head in his hands. Next to him a person sighed.

"Love is a difficult thing to understand." Francis rested his chin in his hands and gazed into blank space. Arthur mimicked his friend's movement and looked sideways at him.

"How so?" he asked. Francis shook his head and stared decidedly at the grass at his feet.

"I know it is wrong to love a member of my own family the way I do but, I just cannot help but want to hold Sesel intimately and caress her and make her see how important she is to me and to pamper her and make her feel special and loved and…" Francis trailed off and buried his face in his hands as he bent even further down. Why did love have to be so complicated? Both men were thinking that. Arthur was thinking: _If I hadn't spoken so harshly to Eli that day, would she be with me instead of Eduard? _Francis was thinking: _Would Sesel love me if I had made love to her when she was five or would she disown me? Maybe I shouldn't have stalked her; I think that might be the reason why she hates me so much._ Neither man knew the answer to their unasked questions but, they would do the best they could to work out their issues one measure at a time.

()()()

Elizaveta sat at the kitchen counter feeding Daina her breakfast; helping anyway. Daina had very good dexterity for a child her age. Elizaveta smiled, Eduard was up in his office planning their honeymoon. The only thing that Elizaveta knew was that they would be bringing Daina with them because, as much as they loved everyone in the theater group, they didn't really trust anyone enough to take care of their child for an entire two months.

Daina smiled up at her mother and flung her spoon across the room toward the stairs.

"Ouch Daina," Eduard had caught the spoon that had collided with the side of his head; walking over to his wife and daughter and kissing both on the head he sat down on the other side of the counter. "Well darling, all the plans are set and the earliest flight that I could get was the third of August." Elizaveta smiled. August was just a week away.

"Eduard," she said sweetly so as to not alarm him. "Just so this doesn't come as a total shock during our honeymoon but, I think we should be careful about the baby." Eduard caressed her cheek.

"Lele why would that come as a shock?" he asked. "Haven't we been taking good care of Daina so far?" Elizaveta put a finger to her husband's lips. "I'm not talking about Daina." She said simply as she watched Eduard realize what she meant.

"When did you find out?" Elizaveta smiled and patted her still flat stomach.

"Three months ago." She said smiling at him and then at Daina. "You're going to be an older sister Dai." Elizaveta said stroking Daina's hair. Elizaveta looked at Eduard. "It is going to be a boy." She said.

"How do you know that? Did the doctor tell you?" Elizaveta shook her head.

"No, it is still too early to tell but I _know_ that it will be a boy." Eduard gave her a questioning look. "I don't know how I know but, I just do. Do you believe me?" Eduard smiled sweetly and took Elizaveta's hand in his.

"Of course I believe you. Have you thought of any names for him?" Elizaveta chuckled slightly as she pulled a small notepad from her pocket.

"Well, I have thought of Ulrich, Gaven, Gunter, Zen, Mieczyław, Aldrik, Lajos, Regner, and lots of other names; I only read a few. I have sixty nine but that would take too long to read." Eduard shook his head.

"Repeat the last four names _slowly_. I couldn't understand what they were." Elizaveta rolled her eyes.

"Mieczyław – that's Polish… Aldrik – that's German… Lajos – that's Hungarian… and Regner – that's Danish." Elizaveta said this so slowly that that Eduard believed her to be slightly peeved. Daina interrupted their conversation by grabbing at the spoon in Eduard's hand. Eduard chuckled and handed Daina the spoon so that she could continue eating.

Eduard went back into his office to make one last phone call.

"Tervist vabandage," the person on the other end said something. "Ja, minu nimi on Eduard Vabariik: ja, tänan väga." Eduard hung up the phone; everything was now set in motion.

()()()

Huddled around the TV in the Dane's family room were the von Weiss and Fiore brothers, Matt, Mr. Svizzera, Zef and Mooie and her two kids, Elizaveta and Eduard and Daina, Ari and Norge, Tino and Berwald, Arthur, Francis, Kiku and Sadiq, Heracles and Gupta, Feliks and Toris, Uncle Mags, and Natalia. The World Cup was in full swing and loyalties to friends and countries were being pulled at all corners. The game on now was Netherlands vs. Denmark. Zef and Dann had bet 20 dollars that their team would win; 10 dollars if the opposing team scored their own goal.

Raucous laughter ensued by the end of the match. Dann had his face buried deep with his hands while Zef waved three ten-dollar bills in the air. Not only had the Netherlands won, 2 – 0 but, Denmark shot their own goal. Tino and Norge were laughing in Dann's face about it; what an embarrassing way to lose! Dann shot Zef a nasty look.

"I'll show you _just_ how good us Danes are _then_ we'll see who's gloating." Zef smirked at Dann; a playful smile curling about his lips as he pocketed the cash.

"I look forward to it."


	11. 9 The Play Will Resume When?

Chapter 9

The Play Will Resume When?

Tino rolled out of bed and onto the floor with a thunk and yet, she still didn't wake up. Berwald, who woke up at the sound of his wife falling to the floor for the umpteenth time got up and tucked her back under the covers. Checking the time, he noted that 3:30 in the morning was too damn early to be awake; only insane people were awake at this hour of the morning. Sighing, he climbed back into bed, wishing that Tino would get rid of her habit of falling out of bed so early in the morning. Sleep was a friend to all, didn't she know that?

Peering over the balcony he saw Elizaveta, Lieselotte, Sesel, and Tino seated around the table chattering with excited voices. Rolling his eyes, he decided to take a shower before his little wife caught him and made him join the conversation. Part of said conversation made its way up to his ears.

"Oh Elizaveta," Tino exclaimed. "How long will you be away?"

"Ed, Daina and I will be gone for 4 months." The four girls squealed.

"Have you decided on a definite name for ze child?" Sesel asked. This question stumped Berwald. Child? Last he checked the only child Elizaveta and Eduard had was Daina and she was a good three months old.

"Yes, I have decided on Aldrik. Eduard likes it too and Daina started laughing and clapping when I asked for her opinion." More squeals could be heard.

"Oh Elizaveta!" Lieselotte awed. "That is a beautiful name for a young boy." _What young boy?_ Berwald thought. _Never mind._ His mind never did work that well in the wee hours of the morning.

Upon exiting the shower Berwald caught more giggling, squealing and more of the conversation.

"Darling Elizaveta, so Eduard does know!" Berwald could hear Elizaveta's smile in her voice.

"Yes, he knows. He's looking for a doctor in wherever it is that we will be going to, so that I can have regular checkups." There was a collective 'awe!' after that and the voices went back to hushed murmurs. _Are Elizaveta and Eduard planning on adopting a new child? _Berwald thought, his mind still fogged with morning drowsiness. _Why does Elizaveta need to have regular checkups?_ As Berwald thought about it he realized what the girls were talking about; names, young boy, regular checkups – it all clicked – Elizaveta was going to have a baby. Did that make him the only man besides Eduard who knew? Oh boy.

()()()

_Don't show your face until you've decided to move on._ Those words ran needles through his blood. He loved her, why did she not love him? Didn't women like men who were strong and chased after the one they loved to show they cared? She seemed to hate it. Why? Was it so hard to accept someone else's love? Yet she had gone and married another. Was it to spite him? Was it to tell him that no matter how hard he tried, she would never be his? _Don't show your face until you've decided to move on. _No, it wasn't to spite him; it wasn't even to make him hate her. She always did have a flair for drama but, why was he the only injured party? He counted getting his legs maimed by her uncle, getting his sides chewed out by her pet tiger, and getting his head knocked in by her foot. While it was true that he loved her for her strength and her temper, he also loved her sweet side the side that tended to his broken wrist when they first met on their way to the district tournament; he loved the side of her that led her to laugh at his cheesy Russian jokes even though she didn't get them without an explanation. When did he change? What led him to be so possessive of the one that he cared for? He only wanted her to be happy; happy and by his side forever. _Don't show your face until you've decided to move on._ How those words haunted him.

He lay down on the grass, looking up at the sky; clouds passing overhead, hiding the sun from view. The hill that he lay on was one part of the park that was rarely visited by others. Here he found refuge to think over what he had done and what he should do. If he wanted Elizaveta to like him then maybe, just maybe, he should try to move on. How should he start? Look for a new person or confront her and tell her that he has decided to move on? He dug his toes into the grass and pulled a few strands free of the earth.

"Ni hao ma," Ivan turned his gaze slightly behind him. A man and a woman were standing together with a wicker basket on their backs like backpacks. "Strange and dangerous man that attacked Miss Lele: what are you doing here?" Who were these people? Ivan sat up.

"My name is Ivan Mariaovich and I am here to calm my mind." The man and woman sat down next to Ivan and started unpacking their baskets. They laid out dumplings of all sorts, rice of all sorts, noodles, soups, and – this made Ivan laugh – ham and cheese sandwiches. The man and woman bowed to him.

"My name is Siaoran Yao and this is my cousin Mínguó Fa. Yao is my first name though it is easier to say my last name first because that is how we address one another in our regions of the world; by our last names." Yao held up a container of dumplings and a pair of chopsticks. "Would you care for a dumpling? They have pork and sticky rice in them. If you wish, you may dip them in soy sauce." After watching Ivan struggle with the chopsticks for a while, Mínguó laughed and showed him the proper way to hold and use them. Now decently comfortable with the foreign utensil, Ivan plucked a dumpling out of the container and popped it into his mouth. He swallowed and took another.

"Làm cho bạn như nó Ông Ivan?" Mínguó asked. Mouth still full of dumpling Ivan gave her a questioning look then he looked to Yao.

"I don't speak Vietnamese," he explained. "She may be my cousin but we only speak to each other in Chinese." Mínguó smiled and said in slow English,

"You like food Mr. Ivan?" Ivan nodded. "Tôi làm chính những bánh bột đó, Tôi cũng làm côngtenơ này những mì sợi." Mínguó said as she held out a container of noodles. Ivan wasn't too certain of what the Vietnamese girl had said but it seemed to him as though she wanted him to try the noodles. He placed the dumpling dish down on the grass and scooped up a good-sized clump of noodles on his chopsticks and carefully maneuvered them to his mouth.

"Это будет очень хорошей едой." Now it was Mínguó's turn to stare. Ivan swallowed the food. "This is very good food." He translated. Mínguó smiled at him and held out her hands and moved her fingers against the palm of her hand to indicate something. "You made these noodles?" Ivan guessed unsure of what she was trying to say. Mínguó nodded and pointed to the dumplings. "You made the dumpling too?" she nodded. Ivan looked to Yao. "She can understand English but she can't speak it?"

"She knows the basic 'hello' and 'goodbye' and 'please and thank you' and 'do you like this?' and 'do you like that?' and 'Mr., Ms., Miss, and Mrs. But, other than that she doesn't speak, unless it is in Chinese or Vietnamese." Mínguó smiled at Ivan as she held up a thermos of soup and a spoon for him to take.

"Ông Ivan, bạn có muốn thử nhiệt của món canh này mà tôi làm là tốt? Nó là súp hoành thánh ưa thích của anh em họ của tôi," Ivan took the thermos and spoon from Mínguó's hands and took a sip. He smiled at the familiar taste; he had gone to a few Chinese restaurants since he came here and wonton soup was what he always ordered, but this soup had a slightly different flavour to it; it was slightly sweeter and there were more green onions.

"Miss Fa, how would you say 'thank you' in Vietnamese?" Mínguó smiled at him.

"Cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều," She said pleasantly.

"Come own bwon root niaow?" Ivan asked helplessly. Mínguó slowed it down for him.

"Cảm… ơn… bạn… rất… nhiều,"

"Come… own… bon… rote… nuow," He said sounding it out. Mínguó smiled hesitantly and shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'not quite but, I know what you are trying to say.' Ivan gave up; he would stick to speaking Russian and English. He continued eating the food that was offered to him until the sky showed signs of rain. Mínguó smiled at Ivan as she held up a red pocket umbrella and opened it up. Ivan looked at her with a confused expression on his face. Why wasn't she leaving? Mr. Siaoran had already left and the rain was beginning to fall.

"Ông Ivan, đi theo chiếc ô hoặc bạn sẽ nhận được ẩm ướt. Nào bây giờ!" Mínguó was motioning for Ivan to join her under the umbrella with almost frantic gestures. Ivan got up and walked slowly under the umbrella. Is this what she wanted? Mínguó grabbed Ivan by the arm and dragged him under the umbrella with her as she marched them to the local coffee shop where she had him order a drink for her. They sat in the café drinking coffee and tea until the rain came to a complete stop.

()()()

Fuming, raging, and with the intent to kill: Sesel raised a frying pan high above her head; ready to strike her victim. He cowered on the floor as he scrambled to get out of the way of the vengeful crockery.

"Sesel ma cheri, can't we talk about this in a civilized manner?" he asked as he dove behind the potted rubber plant as Sesel swung her frying pan towards his head.

"PERVERT! LECHEROUS OLD MAN! KINKY BASTARD! MAN WHORE!" she shouted as she swung the cooking utensil again. "Why would no,_ should, _I listen to anything that you have to say?" Sesel demanded as she brought the frying pan down with a CRASH! where Francis' hand had been seconds before. Francis made it to his feet and grabbed Sesel's wrist before she could swing the deadly weapon again. "Why do you have to make my life a mess? Do you know that it's your fault that all my boyfriends leave me after a week?" Francis foolishly smiled proudly at that statement.

"I didn't want anyone else to claim you." He stated matter – of – factly as Sesel wrenched her wrist free and swung the pan again; nearly missing Francis' chin.

"Sesel, is everything alright? I heard shouting and I thought you were in danger." A tall man with sun – kissed tan skin and tousled auburn hair and deep sincere green eyes peered through the living room window.

"Not now Antonio, can't you see that I'm trying to kill someone right now?" Antonio grimaced.

"Should I come back later then?" he asked eyeing the frying pan in Sesel's hand wearily. Sesel placed the death device down on the couch and smiled.

"No no, it's quite alright now, just be careful of my cousin; he a bisexual pervert who'll have sex with anything on two legs." Francis whined at that.

"Sesel, ma cheri, is that any way to talk about the man who loves you unconditionally?" Sesel shot him a menacing look.

"It's the truth," she said. "Huh, why did my voice crack?" she asked herself; her voice cracked again. She held a hand to her face and caught a tear. Why was she crying? Well, there is an easy explanation.

"Sesel," Antonio said climbing in through the window. "What did he do to you?" Francis raised his arms in the air in complete surrender.

"I just groped her, stalked her, was the reason that every boyfriend that she ever had left her, and I loved her." He admitted making himself sound like the bad guy. Sesel gawked at him. She hadn't expected him to confess those crimes outright without teasing and provoking. Antonio gaped as well; why was this man making himself out to be the bad guy on purpose? After a few minutes of silence, Sesel got up and went upstairs: leaving Antonio and Francis downstairs in the living room. Francis removed the frying pan from the couch and slouched down onto the upholstery and Antonio took a seat next to him. Francis sighed: was this guy going to say something?

"Señor Francis," OK, so the guy spoke Spanish: good for him. "Um, if it is true, what you say about your behavior towards your cousin, don't you think you back off a bit?" Francis hung his head and rested the heels of his hands over his eyes. How could he back off? How, when the one he loved was his blood relation? He didn't understand; families were supposed to be closer than anything. "Señor Francis," Antonio said again. "Why don't you come with me for a minute?" he lifted a depressed Francis by the shoulder and dragged him out of the house.

They didn't go to the park nor did they go to the local café, instead, they boarded the bus and sped off to the countryside. Where exactly it is hard to say; but it was somewhere between the town and the middle of no-where.

Francis didn't really see what was so exciting about being in the middle of cornfields and wheat fields but he decided to see what adventure Antonio would take him on. When the bus stopped at a desolate looking stretch of dried tall grass and stray rabbits scurrying across the road Francis was seriously confused. There was no sign of life for miles and the only bit of civilization that could be spotted within a ten-mile radius was a rusty little mo-town diner with a flickering fluorescent light sign that was half way off of the building. Talk about creepy, this added an extra level of bizarre; what really got Francis was that this place had a bunch a happy chattering people in it, Antonio had entered the throng of people who obviously did not speak English or French: not good.

Antonio came back out some minutes later with some strong smelling white stuff in cups.

"Don't ask what it is: just drink it." Were the instructions so, Francis stared suspiciously at the foamy essence with a raised brow and walked with Antonio for however long it was that they were walking. The next ten minutes found both cups empty and both men merrier than they were before. The general mileage that the two men had traversed approximated around seventeen miles along a seriously windy dirt road with several sharp rocks and shards of glass threatening to penetrate the bottoms of their shoes.

"Let's turn back now shall we?" Francis requested when a glass shard finally cut through the sole of his shoe and broke through the flesh of his foot. Antonio led him to the side of the deserted road and took the shard forcefully from Francis's foot before removing the shoe a bit more gently. Blood coated the tip of the glass shard and trickled from the wound down Francis's foot. Without saying another word Antonio took off at a fast sprint in the same direction that the two were originally walking in: and vanished, leaving Francis alone in no-man's land with a bleeding foot and a weird feeling in his stomach. It might have been that questionable drink, or it could have been the seventeen miles trekked, or it could be the lack of proper nutrition, or a million other things; but whatever it was, it felt weird.

An hour passed; two hours passed; three hours passed. At the turn of the seventh half hour, Antonio returned with a medical kit. Mouth agape, Francis stared at the Spaniard. Noting the expression the Frenchman held, Antonio laughed.

"I ran home to get this!" Francis's jaw just about dropped into the pool of blood that had had formed around his foot and shin. "By home I mean my Mama and Papa's house." Oh, that clarified things up a lot. Not.

Antonio pulled out a dish rag and a water bottle and drenched the rag to wipe up all the blood that had been shed; he then got a dry washcloth and patted Francis's foot dry before applying this neon green salve that bled an ugly puce when it came in contact with the blood; after that Antonio bound the foot and shin tightly so that the blood flow wouldn't continue. When that was finished Antonio placed a light kiss on the newly bound foot and placed the shoe back over it. "Does that feel better?" he asked. Francis nodded numbly as he attempted to stand and instantly toppled forward, pinning the young Spaniard underneath him. Antonio chuckled and pushed Francis lightly off. "Let's not get fresh now shall we?" Francis shrugged as Antonio slung an arm around his waist while draping Francis's arm across his shoulders. "Let's head back."

()()()

Four women and men, one child, one infant, and one tiger; what did six humans and one animal have to do on a cold rainy day? Well, it wasn't shopping and it wasn't work related so, what could it be? Well, one of the women was tending the stove and oven while another was putting place settings around a table. A third woman was cleaning a vast gathering area and the fourth was putting the completed dishes on the counter and putting them in elegant looking containers. The men were staying out of the way of the women and the child and the tiger were tending to the infant; keeping her entertained.

"Now Seth," Ari told the tiger as he held Daina in his lap. "Miss Eliza wants us to help her raise Daina, she told me so a few months ago but you didn't hear it." The tiger cocked his head to the side and let of a strange gurgling sound that might have been a growl but might not have as well. "I am going to marry Daina someday so I will be taking care of her the most; but you will be there for her when I fail and when Miss Eliza and Eduard fail." Seth licked the bottom of Daina's foot, completely ignorant of what the child was telling him. Ari, however, took it to mean that the tiger understood what he was saying.

"Ari, Seth, dinner is ready!" Elizaveta yelled from the kitchen. She, Tino, Sesel, and Lieselotte were joined by Eduard, Berwald, Mr. Svizzera, and – much to Sesel's displeasure – Francis.

Eduard and Berwald sat across from their wives, Mr. Svizzera sat across from his sister, and Francis sat across from Sesel. Going by this pattern, Ari sat across from Daina in her high chair seat and Seth sat at the head of the table.

This was a well – wishing to Eduard and Elizaveta for safe travels during their honeymoon.

From under the table Tino brought forth a white bag with a gigantic bright pink flower on it.

"To baby Daina Vabariik, may she be forever fashionable wherever she goes." In the bag were little baby dresses that had the same flower pattern, striped patterns with flowers dancing across it, and baby bonnets of those same patterns. "Marimekko designs," Tino explained with a huge smile on her face. "My mother works at an outlet in Helsinki, Finland." Elizaveta smiled as Daina grabbed at the fabric: laughing. Tino reached under the table again and brought forth a box; in the box were several plates with multi – sized polka dots. Each plate had different coloured dots. Placed on top of the plates, were matching cups and glasses.

"More Marimekko," Tino explained. "I got a major discount on these, darling: do you know how many Euros these cost originally? No, you don't but, I won't tell you because I don't want to scare you." Tino smiled at Elizaveta and Eduard and Daina. "Enjoy them for a long time; unless you break them, they last forever… or, at least, a really long time." Elizaveta gawked at her friend. The gifts were nice but she could have done without the monologue.


	12. 10 Oh Dear God!

Chapter 10

Oh Dear God!

He watched from his car as the couple and their child entered the airport. He wasn't alone though, not this time. A small hand squeezed his as he held back tears. Is this what it meant to truly lose one you love?

The hand tightened its grip on his and placed it on the steering wheel. He placed his other hand next to the first and steered the car out of the parking lot. The one with him smiled at him as though to say 'there, don't you feel a bit better now?' He however couldn't have felt any better than he had when he was tailing his love to the airport.

She looked at him with sad unpitying eyes. He had deserved his fate but destiny wouldn't be so harsh on him next time; she knew this for a fact. Destiny had a much kinder fate for him. This fate would be found in the hands of someone who would be able to love him as he needed to be loved. She had a fancy that she and her cousin would be the ones to help him out of his troubled state of mind.

Maybe one day these violet eyes would find someone who cared for him.

()()()

Green eyes stared at the owner of liquid blue ones from across the way. The owner of said blue eyes did not know that he was being watched by an intriguing gaze; a gaze so powerful, but held no presence. What such human held that power in their eyes?

Blue eyes were a mystery. Red eyes were intense and defying. Violet eyes were dangerous. Green eyes were captivating. Hazel eyes held compassion and understanding. Brown eyes were calm and relaxing but what kind of eyes had a hidden power? Unobserved by those who knew and just met them? Who owned such eyes?

Dear observer, is there anyone that you know who has this power? I do.

()()()

He felt a shiver run down his spine though only a subtly breeze wisped his hair around his ears. _It may be the rotating fan, _he reasoned. _This bar is pretty hot in the summer time._ He peered about the crowded club. Eight ceiling fans spun at a high rate and four fans on rotator bases scattered about the room were whirring in the ears of those nearest them. _It must be the fans,_ he reasoned. _The windows aren't even open. _A tap on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts. He was confronted with a pair of green eyes when he turned the bar stool to greet the person who had tapped him. He recognized the eyes. _He's the one who left me to bleed for three and a half hours while he ran home to get a medical kit. What was his name again? _ He was too absorbed in thought that he didn't hear what the other man was saying.

"Excuse me Señor Francis," Francis snapped out of his internal spiel and gave the man his attention.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" the man chuckled at Francis' apparent lack of attention.

"I said, 'remember me? I'm the one who lives right next door to your cousin.'" Francis gave a dry laugh at that.

"You also left me on the side of the road with a bleeding foot for three and a half hours." Antonio flat – out laughed at that statement.

"But I also wrapped your foot so that you wouldn't have to have it amputated." Francis couldn't argue with that: not at all. Silence ensued as Antonio ordered another drink for Francis and one for himself as well.

"Señor,"

"Just call me Francis." The Frenchman cut in. "I'm not one to bother with formalities." Antonio hesitated before he said what he was thinking.

"You want to get out of here? It's stuffy and the fans aren't doing their job properly." Francis shrugged and set his glass down. The two of them exited the club with only minimal jostling of extra bodies. When the two men were free of the smoke and alcohol smell, they headed to the park. To do what exactly, neither knew.

Silence hung in the air as both men sat in the shade of an oak tree. It wasn't an awkward silence nor was it a comfortable silence; it was a silence that was waiting to be broken. The minutes passed and both had tried to start a conversation but every time, fell short of true words. It seemed as though the silence would not get its wish of being broken.

_Que viva__ España! _

The tune broke the silence. Antonio smiled at Francis and stopped singing. "Singing is always a tension breaker." He said leaning against the trunk of the tree. "This place is a true comfort zone isn't it? I mean, everyone else comes here to think and to mull things over and to settle things with themselves and to just enjoy themselves." Francis closed his eyes as he nodded in agreement. The peaceful feeling had washed over him within the first ten minutes. Why couldn't he have these moments with Sesel? Why did he only have these relaxing moments when he was with the Spaniard? He didn't really have a problem with that but, he wished that Sesel would at least take a chance with him.

"Francis, can I kiss you?" Francis didn't hear him; he only leaned his head back onto the tree and closed his eyes. Antonio took this as 'do as you wish, I don't really care.' So, why look a gift horse in the mouth?

Antonio leaned in closer and ghosted his lips over the Frenchman's lips. When Francis didn't pull away, Antonio captured the other man's lips in a tender embrace. An electric bolt ran through Francis' spine and he jumped up. This wasn't happening. He was supposed to have this feeling with Sesel not a man.

"Señor Francis, what is wrong?" Antonio reached out a concerned hand toward the startled European man. "Did I do something wrong?" Francis shook his head as he backed away. He didn't hate Antonio for kissing him he just didn't feel normal. Sure he was bi but, his preference leaned slightly more toward women.

He turned and ran. He didn't stop running until he was out of breath. When he realized where he had run to, he collapsed onto the dirt road. He had run to the very first place that Antonio had taken him. How had he wound up here? He was aiming for a bar but his feet apparently had other ideas. Great, this was just what he wanted; not. He stopped walking and sighed.

()()()

Sighing seemed to be a big thing that day as Arthur sighed himself and took a long gulp of coffee.

"Herr Walsh, what has you so downtrodden?" looking up Arthur saw Mr. Svizzera's younger sister take a seat in front of him.

"I'm just contemplating life and the things that happen in it whether you want them to or not." He took a short pause before he spoke again. "I'm sorry: I do believe I have forgotten your name." She smiled at him.

"Nein: that is quite alright; Ich heiße Lieselotte, I am Lieselotte." Arthur nodded; he thought her name might have begun with an 'L' or an 'I'. He took another sip of coffee before he leaned back in his seat. Elizaveta was on her honeymoon right now and he was by himself with a guilty conscience. Well, he wasn't really by himself, he was sitting with Lieselotte at the moment but, he felt alone.

"Herr Walsh, you look like your best friend just punched the can." Arthur stifled a laugh.

"Liesle, it's 'kicked the bucket.'" Lieselotte smiled.

"That too," Arthur shook his head, _whatever._ Lieselotte flagged down a waiter and ordered a keg of bud light. When the waiter asked to see ID Lieselotte gave him a dirty look before pulling out her driver's license.

"So, what has gotten you so depressed?" she asked when the waiter left to get her beer. Arthur shrugged.

"I guess I began to fancy Eli after she fell in love with someone else." Lieselotte began to laugh hysterically.

"Join the club, they have jackets." She said. "Elizaveta can't go anywhere without _some _guy falling in love with her. She once had a married man propose to her after she won the International Martial Arts Competition that was held in Poland; I was invited to view the competition and I must say the proposal was a rather amusing bonus to watch." Arthur shook his head. So he wasn't the only one who fell in love with her, well, Ivan had been an example of that as well.

Lieselotte's beer arrived shortly after ten minutes and she downed it about three long swigs. When she saw the look of horror and awe on Arthur's face she smiled and put the empty keg down. "I'm a light drinker so I won't have any more after this." That was being a 'light drinker?' Somehow Arthur didn't quite believe her on that one. He downed the rest of his coffee before anyone spoke again.

"Liesle," he said rubbing his temples. "How old are you? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude." Lieselotte shrugged her shoulders and smiled.

"It's fine; I don't get offended that easily. I am twenty one." Arthur's jaw hit the ground and fell through to China. Twenty-one; Lieselotte didn't look older than fifteen! She smiled sweetly. "Many people don't believe me when I tell them my age so I always have ID at the ready to prove them wrong." Arthur shook his head; this girl was certainly different and she made his stomach flip, just as a certain caramel haired girl had.

()()()

She leaned over the railing of the sea fairing vessel and let the wind rush through her hair and nip at her bare flesh. The sharp breeze of the Norse Sea bit at her ears and neck as she smiled into the glare of the setting sun. They would be stopping in Denmark to restock on supplies and maybe do some fun shopping.

They had departed from England just a week before and were enjoying a peaceful, stress – less honeymoon thus far.

"Enjoying yourself my love?" she turned around to see her husband and their daughter in his arms, behind her. They exchanged a kiss as the child was passed from father to mother.

"I've never been on a boat before," she said as she wobbled slightly. "My sea legs haven't quite become stable yet but yes, I am enjoying myself immensely." The two of them walked back into the house portion of the boat and sat down at the table.

Elizaveta placed Daina into her car seat while she prepared instant noodles with peanut sauce. Daina was sucking on her spork as she watched her mother prepare the food. The babe was quite impatient when it came to food; she just didn't like to wait for it: not one bit!

Finally, food was served and Daina jammed her Spork into her bowl with a fervor that wasn't natural for child her age. Elizaveta laughed as she helped her daughter transfer her food from the bowl to her mouth with as little festooning as possible. Daina laughed and dribbled sauce onto her bib; sighing, Elizaveta spooned it up and re-fed it to her. When her cell – phone rang just a few minutes after, Elizaveta groaned. Opening said device she said;

"Igen, this is Elizaveta Vabariik speaking." A loud squeal answered her greeting. Elizaveta shook her head; she had prepared for this when she saw the caller ID. "Hello Tino, to what do I owe this charming call?"

"OK, first things first," Tino said on the other end. "You _must_ stop in Finland on your way, I already called my mom and dad and my older brothers and sisters; don't worry: I only have six siblings and they are all in college." Elizaveta buried her head in her free hand and rolled her eyes. "My parents can't wait to meet you and Janika, Seija, and Sinikka – my older sisters – are just dying to meet you! My brothers Sisu, Aaroni, and Väinö are, quite sadly, people who are very awkward to be around. Now, you may have a chance because you have never met them before and thus they may like you but…" Elizaveta blocked everything else that Tino said from her mind in order to keep her sanity. For some reason unbeknownst to her, Elizaveta mildly dreaded meeting Tino's family; just the one child that she had met gave her a minor migraine sometimes. When she hung up Eduard smiled at her knowingly. Elizaveta nodded and sat down next to him wondering how the others were fairing.

()()()

She pushed the double stroller around the block taking in all that she saw. Even though she had walked this path several times before, she didn't feel as though it took away the splendor of the changing seasons and watching the people. She stopped at the café and walked in to order herself a drink. Her children were fast asleep and no one she knew was out today so talking was a pointless effort but, thinking was never a bad idea. She thought all the time; more often than not, her thoughts wandered to a certain blonde man with a distant personality. He was almost cold but she saw a withering flame trying to stay alive. Was he being distant on purpose or was he that way by default? She shrugged her shoulders as she rose to get her drink.

She sat in the café for a few hours as different customers flitted in and out as per their daily routines. As she got up to get another drink her children began to stir.

"Moeder," one of them said rubbing his little eye. "I'm thirsty." She smiled as she ordered one tea for herself and one hot chocolate for her children to share.

"Moeder," the other one said leaning over the side of the stroller. "How long has Vader been sitting there?" Mooie looked startled as she turned her head slightly to see a blonde male with uninterested blue eyes and a bored expression on his face. Mooie felt her heart stop in her chest as she sat down.

How long had he been sitting there and why hadn't she seen him?

"Hello there," the pleasant voice was right behind her. "Would you mind if I joined you?" Mooie didn't look behind her but she nodded anyway. He took the seat next to her and watched as she lifted Han Rik and Eerlijk out of the stroller.

"Do U mind if I hand Eerlijk over to U?" she asked him hesitantly. Norge shrugged and held open his arms to retrieve the young child. When Mooie was back in her seat she made sure not to look Norge in the eyes; she couldn't, he was just too distant.

She only looked at him when she felt a hand atop her head turn her to face him. Her face was flushed with embarrassment though, what she was embarrassed about, she wasn't quite sure.

She couldn't help the smile that spread across her lips when she saw Eerlijk using this stoic man as a jungle gym. The child had one foot on his shoulder and the other one over his head as if she wanted to sit there. As Eerlijk attempted to bring her other leg to the top of Norge's head her foot found its way into his ear. Mooie burst out laughing when she saw the uncharacteristically disgruntled look on Norge's face. Heads in the café turned at the sound of Mooie's high – pitched cackle. She clamped her hands over her mouth as she continued to chuckle.

Norge stared at Mooie as she continued to laugh at him. So he had had a child's foot in his ear, so what? Was it really that funny? When Ari was two and three he used to climb all over Norge as well; it wasn't as though he wasn't used to this.

Eerlijk was now fully situated on his head and her feet were dangling in his face; hey, he was used to it.

"Moeder, look at Eerlijk!" Han Rik exclaimed as he pointed to his sister. Mooie had been watching and laughing. Norge seemed used to having kids use him as a climbing thing.

"Moeder," Eerlijk waved from Norge's head. Norge began to stand up with Eerlijk still sitting atop his head like a little kitten. Mooie joined him, pushing the stroller with one hand while carrying Han Rik on her other arm. She didn't know why but, being with Norge was beginning to make her angry. Why wouldn't he say anything?

As they began walking through the park, she snapped.

"Damn it Norge, Uw just too distant for Uw own good!" Her children and Norge looked at her with blank faces. Mooie sent Han Rik and Eerlijk off to play with a smile before she dragged Norge to one of the benches and sat him down on it.

"Why do U no speak?" she asked through a cloud of confused rage. "U speak at wedding when we meet for first time but now U no speak at all! Why?" Norge shrugged and offered her the seat next to him. "No!" she snapped. "Not yet; U give me good reason first." Norge thought about that. Why did this Dutch dame want him to talk to her so badly? More importantly than that, why was she hell bent on shouting at him? What had he done to her, or hadn't done as seemed to be the case right now.

"I speak when I want and I am quiet when I want," he replied after lengthy deliberation. "I'm not used to girls clinging to me for conversation and as much as I don't mind kids climbing all over me, I could do without them thinking that I'm their father. You're a nice girl Mooie but I like silence more than I like talking. If that's too much to ask for, leave." There, he spoke. Mooie didn't know why but hearing him speak wasn't as gratifying as she had thought it would be. She moved a lock of her fly – away brown hair behind her ear and tied it away with a kerchief that she had tucked away in her pocket.

She took his face in her hands and she turned his head from side to side. He had cerulean blue eyes that tilted slightly upward at the corners; his mouth held a delicate top lip but his bottom lip held a dainty pout to it. His blonde hair wasn't just blonde, it was golden and it glowed like the wheat fields back at home. He wore a silver clip in his hair; the shape of the clip was that of Viking sword.

Her eyes wandered back to his lips. Why did a man posses such feminine lips? Mooie brought Norge's face closer to hers and watched as those lips drew nearer. When they touched hers the feel was soft and smooth. She felt Norge place his hands on her face as well and pulled her deeper into the kiss. Mooie was so stunned that she let her hands fall around Norge's back as her chest was pressed against his. She closed her eyes and let Norge take the lead.

"Moeder, have U and Vader made up?" Mooie jumped out of Norge's hold and looked away. Norge just coughed into his hand and felt his face turn beet red. Han Rik and Eerlijk had obviously finished playing.

"Moeder, why are U and Vader all red?" Eerlijk asked. "If U love him and he loves U then, isn't it OK to do those things?" _Eerlijk, you are too innocent for your own good._ Norge thought getting up. Before he left, Norge placed a small kiss on Mooie's cheek and ruffled the hair of Han Rik and Eerlijk. He had to get home and talk to someone about this.

By 'get home and talk to someone about this' he didn't mean 'find Dann and Zef curled up on his couch covered only by a blanket.' Norge stepped carefully around the scattered articles of clothing and took extra care to not shout at his idiotic cousin and his boyfriend for ruining his couch. Honestly, didn't Zef have his own house? Speaking of… Mooie was Zef's younger sister; how would Zef feel when Norge told him about the kiss? Would he mind? Maybe he should talk to Dann about this first. _Screw this, _he thought as he entered his room and removed his shirt. _I'll wait for Dumber and Dumbass to wake up first. _ Norge shimmied out of his jeans and plopped face first onto his bed. _What is it about Dutch people that seem to have my lame – ass cousin and I turning cartwheels with no arms?_ He sighed and flipped over onto his back as he stared at the ceiling.

There was an intriguing splotch of discolouration that was the perfect map of the British Isles. As he remembered how that splotch got there, Norge groaned. Dann had been the one to put the map in its place. Long story short; never trust a drunken Dane with a cup of caffeinated coffee and a bottle of vanilla flavouring. Norge was glad that the floor of his room was marble tiling and not wood or carpet; it would have taken longer to clean up the mess not to mention the mold that would be festering.

Norge reached above his head and grabbed a pillow to smother himself with. Why did he have to live like this? Rhetorical questions need not be answered. They _can_ be answered, but they weren't designed to be.

A knock sounded on the door to Norge's room and Dann poked his head in.

"I noticed your keys on the counter," he said slowly making his way into his cousin's room. "What's up?" Norge shot Dann a look and rolled over onto his side, curling himself into a fetal position. Dann climbed up onto the bed and put a hand on Norge's shoulder. "Zef and I cleaned up and there isn't a stain." He said with false optimism. Norge glared at Dann from over his shoulder.

"That isn't really what I wanted to find when I came home now was it?" he growled and Dann swore he saw Norge's eyes go from blue to red. Dann gulped and shied away; he pouted.

"What's got you all POed?" Pause. "I mean more so than usual?" silence hit Dann like a torpedo. "Oh come on Nor! You saw nothing, just Zef and I cuddling! I call that 'innocent' in comparison to what you had in mind." Norge snapped.

"If you must know, I kissed Mooie." Dann started laughing. Norge fought the urge to kill Dann where he stood. "It is not a laughing matter you dumbass! I don't know why I kissed her, I just did!" Dann's laughter subsided somewhat.

"You don't need to know why," he said sounding perfectly serious. "Did you feel anything when you kissed her?" Norge thought back to the kiss and shrugged.

"Her lips felt as soft as a tulips petal and her mouth seemed to meld with mine and, if I recall correctly, she tasted like single malt whisky with butterscotch." Dann was trying not to laugh again. His lover tasted like Amstel beer and mint honey.

"Norge my sweet," Dann choked out. "I'd say that you have it bad, really, really bad." Norge groaned.

"I do not have the 'love bug' dumbass." Dann only nodded for he could not speak due to another lapse of laughter.


	13. O2 EgyptxGreece

Omake 2

Falling in Love with the Nile

Heracles felt a pair of strong arms wrap about his shaking form. He buried his head in the crook of a powerful neck and started sniffling. He was tired of pretending that he hated Sadiq; he wanted to show the Turk how much he actually meant to him. The look on Sadiq's face however, told Hera that if he EVER kissed him again, Hera would get a lot more than a slap to the face.

With the rest of the guests gone, Heracles sobbed freely.

"Shhh," a soothing voice wafted past his ear. "Hera, you can be so impulsive sometimes. You really need to try and think of your surroundings." Hera looked up when he heard the voice.

"Gupta?" the Egyptian man gave Hera an amused look.

"What, you didn't realize that it was me from the start?" Hera shook his head. Gupta chuckled and wiped the tears from Hera's eyes. Hera looked down. The cousin of his first love was holding him with such care; it made him slightly nervous.

"Gupta, why are comforting me? After what I just did, I didn't think anyone would still be here." Gupta took Hera's hand and walked him to his bedroom. Once both men were seated on the bed, Gupta turned Hera to face him.

"Hera, I have known you since you came to Egypt one summer; you were ten at the time and I was 18. When you left to go back to Greece we promised to stay in touch and, haven't we been great friends ever since?" Hera nodded wondering where Gupta was going with these nostalgic memories. Gupta continued talking. "When I found out that you were in love with my cousin, I couldn't help but feel a little jealous; I mean, I had met you first and despite the age difference I wanted you to only notice me. So, when I moved up here, I pretended not to care on the outside but really, on the inside I was fuming. I didn't want anyone else to have you..." Hera stopped Gupta mid spiel.

"This sounds like a love confession, a really serious love confession." Gupta smiled.

"That's because it is. I fell in love with the lazy little, cat loving Greek boy that you were when you were ten and I still love you now." Hera cocked his head to the side and stared at Gupta. Gupta took Hera's chin in a gentle grasp and brought their lips together in a sweet and melting kiss. Heracles pushed away instantly and wiped at his mouth.

"I can't," he said a bit too harshly. "I don't like you like that." Gupta sighed and dropped his hand to his side.

"I guess I should have expected that." He said shrugging. "Would it be alright if I kissed you again?" he asked trying to not sound hopeful. Hera shrugged but nodded.

"If it's just kissing, that's alright. I kiss everyone. But, if you plan on making out with me or going a step further, make sure my feelings for you have elevated significantly before attempting anything." Gupta smiled and nodded before leaning in and giving Hera another kiss. Hera pressed his body against Gupta's as he wrapped his arms around the older man's waist. Gupta wanted to take this as encouragement but didn't. He didn't want Hera to hate him after what he had just gone through to tell the man his feelings. After realizing that they needed to breath to live, Hera and Gupta pulled away to get air. Chest heaving, Hera flopped down on his side behind Gupta and buried his face in his pillow. Kissing Gupta was like kissing the petals of a tulip; soft and soothing with a nice aroma. Gupta kissed Heracles on his forehead and left the room.

"Good night my Grecian prince," he said closing the door behind him. Hera watched as the door slid gently into its frame before groaning into the blankets. What would life throw at him next?

()()()

Heracles sat at the pond's edge watching the geese and their goslings glide gracefully through the mist. One little gosling was further from the rest and seemed to be taking his own sweet time in crossing the pond. This little guy, Heracles decided to name, Goofy. Goofy was his pal and didn't seem to mind the multitudinous cats the frolicked and napped around the ponds perimeter. Watching Goofy drift aimlessly on the pond made Heracles think, would Goofy get along with Gilly?

As Goofy waddled up on shore to sit next to Heracles and the cats, Heracles dipped his toes in the water and lay back on the grass.

"Having fun darling?" Heracles raised his to look behind him. In his line of vision was Gupta; upside – down and smiling at him. Heracles sat upright and turned to face Gupta.

"Hey, what do you want?" Gupta sat down next to Hera and wrapped an arm around the young man's waist.

"I just came to enjoy a nice stroll in the park and, when I saw you here I thought I might drop by to see how you were doing." Gupta was slowly scooting closer to Hera so that he could kiss the young Greek.

Hera felt his hips brush against Gupta's. Turning to the Egyptian he instantly looked away. Gupta was smiling at him; it was tender smile that made Hera's heart stop. He leapt up grabbing at the fabric over his heart and gave Gupta a terrified look. Gupta stood up as well and offered Heracles his hand.

Unsure of what to do, Hera took off across the park, stumbling over his own feet as he went. Falling only once, he righted himself quickly and sprinted away.

Gupta stood as still as a statue on the grass: his hand outstretched and his heart confused. What was the reason for Hera's sudden flight? He did not know; Heracles himself knew not the answer either.

The weight of the world seemed so immense to the two of them right now that neither one would ask for help in bearing the load. Each would take it as one to challenge themselves until they realized that they needed the strength of the other to lift half the load; they would free the other so that love would fit. When that day comes, however, we know not when nor the circumstances that lead up to the destined event. The only thing that can be said is this; whether love is so obvious that both choose to ignore it for fear of being hurt or, love is so distant that neither are sure if it even exists to begin with. This is the struggle that these two men have to bear on their broad and slender shoulders.


	14. 11 Far Away and Farther Still

Chapter 11

Far Away and Farther Still

Sailing was smooth through Denmark, Norway, and Sweden but, as they docked on the shores of Finland, storm clouds made their way across the sky. Waiting for them, parked on the side of the road was a caravan of five cars. A large woman with silver blonde hair pulled back in a bun walked up to them with outstretched arms and a broad grin on her face. The woman reminded Elizaveta of a Viking woman; sturdy build and high cheekbones and that wild feel about her. A smaller woman with the same hair followed closely behind the first.

Elizaveta and Eduard exchanged looks and gulped. Tino's family was sure on the large scale in more ways than one. The larger woman engulfed Elizaveta in her arms and squeezed tightly.

"Moi, I am so glad that you made it in good time!" she exclaimed as she let go of Elizaveta to smother Eduard. "We were worried that you would get caught in the storm!"

"Mother, please, they just got here." The woman chuckled a bit and backed off. The smaller woman held out her hand.

"I am Tino's mother, Suoma Pauliina. We were all very excited to hear from Tino that her friends would be traveling here." Elizaveta smiled and her eyebrows twitched. _I get the feeling that Tino __conveniently__ left out the part where this is supposed to be our honeymoon. _Eduard was thinking the same thing as Tino's mother and grandmother led them to the caravan and introduced them to everyone and their dogs. The dogs were the only ones that Elizaveta even bother to remember. All of them were huge Siberian huskies but three were girls and two were male. The two brown ones were the males Joukahainen and Väinämöinen. Joukahainen had black ears and the black spread to cover both eyes and Väinämöinen had red streaks through his brown fur. The females were black, white and gray. Terhenetär was an almost all black husky with white glasses and socks; Vilhelmi was a black and white speckled pup with a gray cloud adorning the tip of her eagerly twitching tail; Vendela was a gray, black, and white mottled husky with an all black muzzle that never left Elizaveta's lap for the entire car ride to the Finnish countryside. It was thickly wooded and a rare wood house poked out through the dense trees every once in two or three miles. When the cars finally stopped, Elizaveta and Eduard were herded out of the car; Daina was sleeping in a sling on Elizaveta's back.

It was a long trek through the woods but the scenery reminded Elizaveta of the upper peninsula of Michigan. According to Suoma, a heavy rainstorm was to be expected in the early evening. Elizaveta rolled her shoulders up as a shiver ran down her spine. She hated storms especially with thunder and lightning.

As Suoma was going through the plans for Elizaveta, Eduard, and Daina's stay, the heavens let loose their fury. Elizaveta squeaked and brought Daina around to her front. One of Tino's many cousins popped up beside her with an umbrella.

"It will be alright," he told her. "These storms only last for at least three days." That didn't help matters much and it really didn't help when Elizaveta saw the house; it was made entirely out of wood and stone and half of it was built over a ledge that dropped three meters. When the sibling saw the look of horror on Elizaveta's face he patted her shoulder. "This house has weathered many storms and it is very sturdy." Elizaveta turned with an incredulous look on her face.

"I couldn't care less about the house," she choked out. "Just get me out of this god forsaken storm!" Tino's relative chuckled and led Elizaveta into the house and showed her the guest room that she and Eduard would be staying in.

"In case you had forgotten," he said before leaving the room. "My name is Sisu. My mom asked me to cater to your every need; she said it was good hospitality. Call me if you need me." And with that, the door closed and thunder crashed. Elizaveta screamed and dove under the covers with Daina held closely to her chest so as not to harm her. Moisture welled up in her eyes and fell with the next strike of lightning. When the crash of thunder sent tremors through the wood, Elizaveta started quivering in fear. Another bolt of lightning tore a seam in the fabric of heaven as another drum of thunder boomed.

Tears were now streaming freely down Elizaveta's cheeks and chin.

Strong arms wound around Elizaveta and Daina, drawing them close.

"It's alright Lele; this storm has no way of harming us or of getting to us in anyway." Daina crawled out of the sling and placed a small hand under her mother's eyes and rubbed away the tears with her tiny fingers.

"Anyu!" she declared placing both palms on her mother's cheeks. Elizaveta smiled at her daughter and held her close as she and Eduard sat up. "Anyu!" Daina declared again. Elizaveta turned to face Eduard.

"Daina is almost a year old," she said running her fingers through Daina's hair. "It's in a month isn't it?" Eduard nodded as Elizaveta handed Daina over to him. Daina looked at her father and wriggled out of his arms and tumbled onto the floor. Panic spiked in both parent as they watched their child fall; instead of crying however, they heard laughing. Daina had picked herself up and was toddling toward the door.

"Anyu!" she cheered as she fell back on her bum. Elizaveta and Eduard just stared at their daughter with mouths agape. Daina turned to Eduard. "Isa!" She maneuvered herself back onto her feet and steadied herself before toddling back over to the bed.

"It appears that we have been speaking to Daina in both Hungarian and Estonian." Elizaveta noted as Eduard picked their child up from the floor. Eduard nodded, still unable to close his mouth.

Elizaveta took Daina and sat the child on her lap.

"Daina drágám, nem beszél magyarul?" Daina threw up her arms and cheered.

"Igen, Anyu!" that solved the Hungarian part, now what about the Estonian?

"Daina, kullake, kas sa eesti keelt?" Daina quirked her head to the side a bit and looked confused. Eduard hung his head; it didn't seem as though she had understood him. Or maybe she had.

"Ma armastansind Issi!" she declared as she wrapped her arms around Eduard's forearm. Then, Daina said something that was neither in Hungarian nor Estonian. "Ég elska mömmu og pabba!" Icelandic: Ari's language. Elizaveta recalled that Ari spoke to Daina only in Icelandic on most occasions and occasionally speaking to her in English, but that was only when Elizaveta was talking with Ari. Her daughter was multilingual. Well, knowing many languages was always a wanted talent in the working world; Daina would never be without a job.

"Illallinen on valmis!" a call came from somewhere in the house.

Sisu poked his head into the room.

"Isoäiti says that dinner is ready," he said smiling at Elizaveta and Daina and nodding at Eduard. He then vanished; leaving behind a piece of paper that drifted to the floor. Eduard glared at the door.

"He likes you Lele," he said as he turned back to his wife. "I hate to sound jealous, but I don't like it." Elizaveta giggled and pulled her husband into a tender kiss.

"Don't worry, we'll only be here for three days at most and Sisu won't be able to get to me at all besides, I know how to defend myself." Eduard smiled at that reassuring bit. He knew firsthand how capable Elizaveta was when it came to warding off unwanted men. Messing with Lele meant a month in the hospital and perhaps an angry tiger on your tail if you weren't so fortunate.

()()()

Seth was stationed at the front door of Sadiq's house waiting for Daina and Elizaveta's return. Sadiq and Gupta both had tried to move Seth from his post but Seth refused to move; he knew that his mistress and her kit would be back soon enough and he didn't want the young kit to question his absence should he not be here when she returned. He wanted his mistress to praise him for his loyalty when they returned home.

He sprawled out in front of the door and yawned as Sadiq walked up to the door. He grabbed Seth by the collar and dragged him out. The tiger objected vehemently against this.

"Gupta," Sadiq said into his cell phone. "I'm draggin Seth over there so kick Isis into the back yard… look, I don' care how small it is I want Seth to live with ya fer a while; he's so hung up on waiting fer Lizzie and her little one to get back that he has neglected himself… he hasn' bathed himself since they left and only comes into the kitchen when he thinks he hears an infant wailing. The idiot hasn' realized yet that my television is the one making those noises." Seth flattened his ears as he listened to Sadiq talk about him in a disapproving tone. Well, Sadiq was Sadiq and no one – however much they tried – could not change him. Not at all.

"I don' care if Hera's with ya," Sadiq groaned. "He ignored ya fer how long already? Why expect anything to change now... he's like Lovino, he kisses everyone; typically as a greeting or a farewell… I DON' CARE! Just house Seth for a week then give him back!" Seth growled at Sadiq and tried to yank away from him but Sadiq held an iron grip on Seth's collar.

()()()

Gupta hung up his cell phone and went upstairs to Hera's kitchen.

"Heracles," he said poking his head in through the door. "Sadiq is going to be dropping Seth over at my place so I need kick Isis out. Do you think… ?" Heracles got up from the couch that was stationed next to the table and wrapped his arms about Gupta's neck.

"Does that mean you'll be staying here as well?" he purred. Gupta gently nudged Hera off.

"Don't do that if you don't feel the same way." Hera pouted. "And no, it means that I will have to spend more time at my house taking care of Seth." Hera's arms captured Gupta's waist and he placed his head in the crook of Gupta's neck.

"I thought you said you love me." He sighed. Gupta pushed Hera off with a little more force.

"I do love you but you don't feel the same about me so, I would appreciate it if you stop giving me hope when I know you are still in love with Sadiq." Hera stopped trying to cling to Gupta. _How does he know?_ Hera thought as he watched Gupta leave the villa. _How does he know that I still have feelings for Sadiq? I thought I was doing a good job of showing that I had moved on. How did he see through that?_ Hera slumped to the floor as he felt tears prick at his eyes. Crap.

Gupta arrived at his house just minutes before Sadiq came barging in with Seth. Sadiq gave Gupta a long list of what Seth needed and hated and told him to keep Seth from escaping. Gupta nodded and pushed Sadiq right back out the door before closing it in his face.

Turning to Seth Gupta said, "How do you put up with him; never mind, I need you to stay here while I do cupid work." Gupta went out back and grabbed Isis by her collar and walked her to Hera's house.

Making sure not to get noticed by the Greek man, Gupta led Isis out to the back of Hera's house and left her to make due in the garden and pool. Gupta then led himself to the front of Hera's house and rang the bell. Five minutes passed before the door opened.

"Gupta, why are you here? What happened to Seth and Sadiq? Where's Isi–?" Gupta silenced Hera with a kiss. Gupta mentally kicked himself for forcing Hera like this but, Hera did say kissing was all right. The Egyptian's arms wound lovingly around Hera's frame and pulled him slightly closer. Hera opened his mouth to speak, but Gupta – berating himself for his selfish behaviour – took that moment to delve his tongue into Hera's mouth and explore.

Heracles felt his legs go limp as Gupta's tongue slipped into his open mouth. This wasn't like Gupta at all; why was he acting so strangely? He wasn't mad: Hera. He was just startled. Gaining his senses back, Hera shoved Gupta off.

"Why did you do that?" he demanded. "Why break your heart even more? I like you as a friend Gupta, not a lover. Why can't you seem to get that? You will never be anything more than a friend to me!" Hera startled himself with those words; for some reason, they felt…wrong. "I mean I… uh, oh crap." Gupta smiled sadly at Hera and patted his shoulder.

"It's okay, I get it. I'm sorry I kissed you." Gupta turned to leave but Hera grabbed his wrist. "Yes? What is it? You obviously don't want me here and seeing as I have no hope of you ever returning my feelings I see no reason why I should be with you now." Hera was at a loss for words and what to do. So he opted for pulling Gupta back to him. He held the Egyptian in a tender embrace for what seemed like hours but was actually mere seconds. Gupta pushed himself away from Hera; heartbreak was etched into every line of his face. Without saying another word, he left.

Distraught and disgusted with himself Heracles ran out back to his garden and threw himself down on his knees. Holding his hands in prayer position he thrust his head toward the heavens and cried.

"Αγαπητέ θεός παρακαλώ βοηθήστε με!" he slumped forward and let his forehead touch the stone tiles that were situated around the pool. The cool ceramic lulled Heracles into a false sleep.

A tear fell from his eye and ran over the bridge of his nose to join another tear on the tiles. After a few more minutes, Hera felt a wet muzzle nudging at his stomach. Opening his eyes he found himself staring into golden orbs and a pink nose. Isis was crouched down next to him and was trying to determine whether he was dead or not; obviously, he was not dead. Hera continued to stare at the tigress until she decided that it mattered not if he were living or deceased. She pounced on him and pinned him beneath her as she the continued to sniff him. She backed off when she caught the familiar scent of her owner. This strange man had attracted the attention of her master so she had to behave herself. Jeesh! This was going to be slightly difficult. She had to try though, for her master's sake.

To hell with good manners; Isis bit his arm and let his blood drip onto her tongue. She could see why her master was attracted to this man; he tasted good. Feeling guilty, Isis lapped up the blood that had spilled from her bite and nuzzled her head into Hera's chest. She was sorry.

After a few minutes, Isis fell asleep with Heracles using her as a pillow.

Gupta returned home with a river running over both cheeks. If Hera intended to refuse him, why did he not say so outright? Gupta collapsed on his bed and closed his eyes. Why couldn't life be like the Nile and flow smoothly? Why did he have to scale Mount Kilimanjaro just to be with the one that he adored and cared for and loved? Was it so much to ask?

He heard whining and scratching coming from the other side of his door. Seth. Damn kit! Gupta opened the door and flew right back to his bed. Seth followed suit and pinned Gupta to the mattress. Seth whined again and nuzzled Gupta's cheek. Gupta sighed and stroked Seth's head as the giant feline curled up next to him and started purring. Cats had such an easy life; eat, sleep, hunt, play, and sleep some more.

()()()

"Look at him you big bully, can't you see that you are partly to blame for his state?" Amber eyes gazed at the man sitting across the shop from them.

"Shut up ya little weasel," the man groused. "I don' get why ya Poles are such a stubborn race. Didn' history teach ya nothin'?" the feisty young Pole punched the Mediterranean man in the arm.

"You moron, the Poles fought against the Turks to keep the peace and drive you all out of where you didn't belong! I expect it to stay that way!" Feliks continued to physically assault Sadiq's arm until he cried for mercy. "Now, go over there and talk to him." She continued. "Or, I could and the situation won't get any better. You choose." The Turk contemplated Feliks' offer for a few quick seconds before removing his mask and walking over to where the Grecian man sat with his head resting on his arms.

Taking a seat, Sadiq just stared at the young man in front of him. It was clear that Heracles had been crying judging by the trail of dried tears that covered his exposed cheek.

"Ye alright kid?" he asked poking the younger man in the arm. Hera raised his head, groaned and slumped back down. Sadiq shot Feliks a look. She mimed shooting Sadiq in the heart then in a lower place and smiled. Sadiq shook his head as he turned his attention back to Hera. "Kid, if I don' straighten things out now, I am gonna die an early death." Hera raised his head again.

"Piss off Sadiq." He muttered under his breath. Sadiq grabbed Hera's chin and forced the Greek to look him in the eyes.

"I need t' talk t' ya ye lame ass so drop it with the self pity and get the balls to stand up on your own two feet like a real man damn it!" Sadiq stood up and pushed Hera. "Even if ye are still in love with me, I want someone who at least has the strength to pull themselves together!" Hera pushed himself to his feet and slapped Sadiq before running out of the coffee shop. Sadiq slumped back down into the seat and groaned. Feliks walked over to the deflated Turk and slapped his mask back on his face.

"You'll need it you fuck up." She grabbed Sadiq by the arm and jerked him up out of the seat and out of the shop. Never in his twenty years of life had he ever felt so screwed.

()()()

Heracles collapsed onto his bed and shook with rage. For some reason he didn't feel upset, just angry. What Sadiq had said to him was true – he was full of self pity and he was moping. Sadiq also made him realize what an insensitive jerk he had been to Gupta. Hera screamed into his pillow. He had taken Gupta's feelings and used them as a trash can – taking all his pent up emotions for Sadiq and dumping them on Gupta. Hera screamed again. Now he understood why Gupta had acted the way he had. Gupta had basically told him to straighten out or face the consequences. Life seriously was not fair.


	15. 12 After the Storm

Chapter 12

After the Storm

Elizaveta sat outside in the rain. The thunder and lightning had let up but the rain still hammered down upon the earth. Elizaveta didn't mind the rain as much as she had the thunder and lightning. No, the rain was soothing. One could be out in the rain and let all worries and stress flow freely with the falling water. Elizaveta was not only letting her worries flow, but also her thoughts. All the unnecessary things that had piled up in her head for the past three days were being cleansed with the rain-fall. She smiled as she stepped out from the over-hang of the roof and under the heaven's tears, not caring if she got wet.

She smiled to herself as her barfeet squelched in the mud and her toes curled around the wet grass. She placed her hands on her stomach and smiled. She definitely had a baby bump and she felt a thrill in the fact that she held another life within her. She frowned. With that thought in mind she hurried back into the house to dry off. She couldn't risk getting sick: the child might not make it if she did.

Anyu!" Daina toddled toward her. Elizaveta caught her daughter before she fell.

"Hey sweetie," she said picking her up. "Have you and Isa been packing everything up? We will be leaving shortly." Daina smiled and nodded. Elizaveta giggled and walked back into the guest room that she had shared with Eduard.

Eduard was lying on the bed with two packed suitcases and one packed duffel bag. Elizaveta, with Daina in her arms, snuck up on him and – shifting Daina to one arm – prodded her husband in the ribs. Eduard sat bolt up right and massaged his assaulted ribcage. After groaning dramatically he smiled at his wife and daughter.

"Yes my love," he said sweetly. "What can I do for you?" Elizaveta smiled back and handed Daina over to him.

"Get Daina into the van, Suoma will be driving us to the dock shortly." Still massaging his ribs with one hand, Eduard stood and kissed his wife before obliging her request. Elizaveta smiled to herself as she collected the suitcases and duffle bag and carried them into the kitchen where she told Suoma that they were ready to leave. _ Estonia, wait for us, we will be there shortly. _She thought.

()()()

She hummed in anticipation as she helped her mother prepare the guest room. She brought her younger brother`s old baby crib down from the atic. She was gratefull that they hadn`t gotten rid of any of their old infant things such as bed clothes for the crib and baby suits that her mother had made for her, her sister and her two brothers. She was planing on picking out the things that she wanted her children to have when she actually had children of her own.

She was the youngest, which was why she was still at home; all of her other siblings had left upon graduating from highschool – attending college in a different country – she was still not yet finished with highschool.

She heard the doorbell ring. She stopped what she was doing and ran to open the door.

"Annika, Miiko! " she squealed as her two eldest siblings entered the house. Miiko tackled his baby sister into a hug while Annika went to hang up her coat.

"Kus Eduard? Kas ta ei keegi, et ta tahtis meile kohtuda?" Annika asked as she pried Miiko off Vivika and put herself in his place.

"Ema teab," Vivika said. "Küsida temalt." Annika`s head fell to her chest.

"C'mon Viv!" Annika growled playfully as she attacked her younger sisters chest. "Tell me!" When Vivika refused to speak, Annika began teasing her sister. "Look how big you've gotten! Honestly, I swear I could hear you moving around in here even though I was outside!" Vivika wasn't one to back down easily.

"You're one to talk," she choked out. "When you still lived here, you made the house shake just by walking down the stairs!" The two then engaged in a tickle war. Miiko, who was watching his sisters with amusement, left to answer his phone.

"Tere, see on Miiko rääkimine."

"Miiko, see olen mina, Eduard." Miiko listened to what his brother had to say and his mouth nearly fell open. How could he keep that a secret?

()()()

Elizaveta looked at her husband as he hung up the phone: he looked right back at her with a smirk on his face. He knew what he was doing and he knew he could trust his older brother with his life.

When the boat reached the shore, Eduard escorted Elizaveta and Daina down to the beach. He then transported their luggage to shore by way of the inflatable lifeboat that was stored on board. The houseboat was tied to a tree. Soon, the two parents were walking up the hilly beach carrying suitcases and a child with them.

A while later, after being assured by Eduard that they only had to walk a few more blocks, Elizaveta collapsed on a tree stump and moaned. Her feet were sore and Aldrik seemed to be a natural athlete. Eduard knew that carrying a child in her arms and in her womb couldn't possibly be a walk in the park; he called his brother and explained the situation and where they were. With any luck, Miiko would be there within a few minutes.

"Thanks for picking us up Miiko." Eduard said as Miiko drove them to the house. Miiko rolled his eyes and glanced at Elizaveta who was seated across the back seat: Daina sleeping soundly over her mother's pregnant stomach.

"Miks te ütlete ainult mulle?" Miiko asked at his brother. "Mother would have been a much better choice," he gestured to a sleeping Elizaveta and child. "In these matters." Eduard took a deep breath before speaking. He actually didn't think he should say this at all.

"You are my best friend and older brother and I trust you more than Mother and Anni and Vivika. I told you because I know you can keep secrets." Miiko shook his head. Eduard made no sense sometimes.

Vivika was watching eagerly from the front door window in anticipation of Eduard's arrival. When she saw the blue van pull into the driveway she ran outside, her large chest bouncing as she ran.

When Eduard stepped out off the van Vivika pounced.

"Vend! Tere tulemast koju! Ma igatsesin sind nii palju! Miks sa ei kursis hoida meie juures? Kas oled unustanud meid? Kas see on see? Oh, nüüd ma tean, et nii on. Eduard sa Kitupiikki!" Eduard laughed at his sister's hysterics. Vivika stopped her rant when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a woman who was visibly pregnant and carrying a child in her arms. Vivika`s arms fell from Eduard and her jaw dropped. She looked from the woman to her brother and back. Then she whispered in her brother's ear.

"Vend, kes on see naine?" Elizaveta chuckled.

"Introductions will be made once everyone is in the house." Vivika`s mouth dropped. How did this woman know what she had said? Unless she was Estonian as well… but she highly doubted that, this woman didn't look Estonian. She had to make sure though.

"Oled sa siin? Kas olete Eestist?" Elizaveta chuckled again and shook her head. They entered the house. Annika and their mother were waiting in the kitchen. Vivika ran to take a seat and Miiko propped himself against the wall. Eduard took a deep breath and looked from Miiko to his wife to his child and back to his wife. Elizaveta smiled and nodded.

"Mother, Anni, Vivika, and Miiko," he said. "I would like to introduce Elizaveta, my wife, and our daughter, Daina." Silence. "Lele was born in Belarus but lived mostly in Hungary so she speaks fluent Hungarian, she also knows a little Lithuanian and Estonian. Our languages are in the same family after all." Eduard`s mother stood up and looked Elizaveta over. Elizaveta stood still and waited for the assessment to be over. Eduard`s mother stood back and placed a warm and gentle hand on Elizaveta's cheek.

"My son chose well," she said. "You are healthy and strong but you are also gentle and kind." Turning to Eduard she said. "Hoidke teda ohutu, ta on purustatud hing. Ma näen, et see toimub parandatud, kuid see on habras. Heal tema mu poeg, ja hästi hoolitseda tema eest." Eduard smiled and nodded. He knew: he knew everything.

()()()

Back in the states a new visitor had made her appearance. She had long thick dirty blonde hair that was pulled into a loose braid, large blue eyes that were hidden behind thick rectangular rimmed glasses, and a scornful mouth adorned her features. She was paying a visit to her brother. She grumbled as she walked around the square looking for older brother. Thinking of the most likely place he would be, she entered a bar. Pinching her nose, she continued her search.

"Antonio, stop," she heard a familiar voice moan. "I still don't know if I like you like that."

"Francis," said a new voice. "You do know." She watched wide-eyed as another man pulled her brother into a kiss. Her idiot brother seemed to melt into the kiss; he clung to the other man for support. Curling her lip in distaste, she balled her hands and marched over to her brother.

"Francis!" she shouted rousing the two men from their make-out session. The girl took off her glasses and glared at Francis. "Frère! Vous secousse irresponsable! Comment est durement cela pour vous pour quitter une adresse de votre endroit actuel de résidence?" She wheeled on Antonio. "Et vous monsieur, ne l'encouragez pas! Il est un brisant bien connu du cœur en arrière à la maison. Je suggère que vous partez maintenant avant qu'il casse votre coeur!" Antonio stared at the girl who had shouted at him; he turned his gaze to Francis.

"Vanilla, mon chéri, que faites-vous ici?" Vanille turned an icy glance to her older brother.

"La mère veut que vous à la maison regardiez des peintures pour un mariage arrangé." Without another word, Vanilla grabbed Francis´ wrist and dragged him out of the bar leaving a very confused Antonio behind them. Once the two siblings were out and quite some distance down the street, Vanilla turned and slapped her brother.

"Mon nom n'est pas de Vanilla, c'est Vanille. Vous de tous les gens devriez le savoir!" Francis tsked.

"Your name sounds a lot cuter in English ma soeur douce." Vanille slapped her brother and stormed off. _Vanille, ma soeur douce, pourquoi me détestez-vous ainsi? _He thought as he walked back to the bar. He would go home but he would take Antonio with him. He knew what he wanted and it was time he stopped living in denial.

()()()

He was walking pleasantly in the park. The sun was setting and in the sky there was painted the most beautiful sunset he had ever seen. He had left his machine gun at home because he didn't want to scare the civilians but he had a pistol strapped to his boot – just in case.

He stopped walking when he heard sobs in the distance. He reached for his gun and kept walking. The sobs were getting louder as he neared the large oak by the ponds. He cautiously rounded the corner to find a young girl curled against the tree with her knees to her forehead. He noticed that she was trembling as well as sobbing. Her dirty blond hair was falling out of its braid and her glasses were falling off of her ear. He crouched down next to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She looked up at him with startled blue eyes. Her nose was slightly runny and her makeup was a mess but he didn't really care. She looked at him uncertainly.

"Qui sont vous?" She asked rubbing her nose. He handed her a napkin that he had crumpled in his pocket. She smiled awkwardly and blew her nose.

"Je m'appelle Vash Svizzera. Pourrais-je demander quel votre nom est?" She rubbed her nose until it was red.

"Moi, je m'appelle Vanille Epine." Vash extended his hand to her and helped her to her feet. "Merci monsieur Vash." She took her hand out of his grasp and walked away. It took Vash a while before he realized where he had heard that last name before. She was a relative of Francis!

()()()

She stood on the stage of the concert hall and waited. When the first beat from the boom box could be heard she began to dance. Pirouetting on her first step and turning thrice before her feet skipped an impossible feat of footwork: she had traveled halfway across the stage where she had collapsed gracefully over one leg. She danced until the song was over. She ended off stage for that was where her water bottle was. She enjoyed these alone hours that she had to herself. No one bothered her and she could clear her mind of any worries. She walked back out to sit on the stage only to hear applause coming from one person. She scanned the rows and found a familiar head of spiky blond hair. He walked up the isle to the stage and hopped up to sit next to her.

"I walked in when you were in the middle of your performance." He told her. "I wish I could have seen all of it." She jumped up and blushed. If she had known that anyone had entered she would have faltered in her dance. She nodded her head as he stood up as well. He extended his hand to her. I don't believe we were ever introduced to each other properly. My name is Arthur, Arthur Walsh." She took his hand hesitantly.

"I am called Sesel Péntek." She said flipping her pigtails over to her back. "I have seen you once before, I think. Elizaveta was with Lieselotte and myself at ze time if I remember correctly." Arthur nodded, that seemed correct to him.

"Miss Péntek," he said. "Are you too, from France?" Sesel shrugged her dainty little shoulders.

"Zat is were I was born, but zat is not where I grew up." That didn't answer Arthur's question. "I grew up in Monaco." She added. "Primary through university. I am a mean hand in any form of cards so I wouldn't try your luck." She said giving Arthur the cruelest smirk he had ever seen on a woman. "I just moved here from Seychelles only recently." She concluded. She nodded her head. "It has been a pleasure banging into you again. Au revoir!" With that, Sesel flounced off the stage and ran quite embarrassed out of the theater.

()()()

Several days had passed and he had yet to find her unoccupied. It seemed as though every time he wanted to talk to her, she instantly busied herself with something just to avoid talking to him. Strange – coming from the most talkative girl since Tino. Tino never shut up, not even when she was depressed! The strange thing about it was that Mooie didn't seem to be depressed; she was just avoiding him. He slumped forward onto his desk and buried his head in his papers. This is why he didn't deal with women; they played too many head games and they ran away like spooked rabbits when they were uncertain about something (well, not Tino; she was loud and obnoxious and she complained endlessly until she resolved her uncertainty).

As he was mulling his thoughts over in his head, he was oblivious to the fact that his doorbell rang. So, when he heard a knock on his door, he almost growled in annoyance.

"Hva?" he grit out trying to regain his composure.

"Noorwegen, bent U goed?" Was what was heard on the other side of the door; Norge looked at said door and got up to open it – but he didn't. "Norge, open up – please. I sorry, please." Norge walked away from the door and sat down on the bed. The door opened a crack and Mooie stuck her head in. Norge said nothing so she entered the room fully, closing the door behind her. She sat on the bed next to Norge and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Noorwegen, we know each other for één jaar now," she said as she tried to get Norge to look at her. "I like U a lot but, Uw very distant and it very hard sometimes to know what Uw thinking." When Norge still wouldn't look at her, she shouted. "Norge! Look at me Idioot! LOOK AT ME!" she grabbed his face and turned it so that he was looking her in the eyes. Mooie let go of his face almost instantly. "Why U look like that?" she asked almost frightened. Norge took a deep breath and turned his whole body so that he wouldn't have to strain his neck.

"You are the most aggravating woman I have ever met." He said slowly his voice heavy with an emotion that Mooie didn't recognize. "You cling onto me for the longest time talking my ears off and trying to get me to talk, you give me one kiss and then you ignore me or avoid me for a month and half, and now, NOW, you are here driving me even more insane than I would like and that I am used to; I have a large family and they drive me up the wall as well but you, you Mooie, you take the cake. I have never been driven this close to the edge with nothing to hold onto by ANYONE, except you and you want to apologize for upsetting me? No Mooie, I am not upset. I'm furious. I really don't like people in general but," here he paused to get a good look at Mooie. She was frightened; but she wasn't crying. "You say that you like me," he said, his voice falling back to normal, almost sweet. "But, I don't think that I could ever _like _you, Mooie." Here, a tear did fall. "As you said, we have known each other for a year," Norge wasn't sure how to phrase his last sentence so he opted for wiping the tear from Mooie's eye. "I am incapable of _just_ liking you, Mooie, I think that I love you." Mooie collapsed onto Norge's chest and bawled.

"Idioot! Je dom idioot!" She howled as she beat her small fist against his shoulder. "Ik haat je! U meanie! Ik haat je!" She looked up into Norge's cerulean blue eyes and smacked him. Norge just smiled as he pulled her face up towards his. His lips met hers in a tender embrace. She tried to pull away but she failed as she found herself on her back with Norge still kissing her. She stopped struggling when she felt him slide his hand under her blouse and begin rubbing small circles on her abdomen. She bit her lip as she held back a moan. Dann was in the house and she didn't want to get caught. Norge removed his lips from hers only to kiss a trail across Mooie's jaw and neck. His hand traveled up to cup her breast and at that, Mooie let a sensuous moan escape her lips. Norge looked at her uncertain if he should keep going or not. He had never been with anyone before so he wasn't sure if Mooie's moan was a good or a bad thing. In answer to his silent question, Mooie took his free hand and guided it to her nether regions. Norge was shocked; Mooie was wet through her jeans. She smiled up at him and bucked her hips against his hand. Norge smirked then, and reclaimed Mooie's lips as he began to undo her pants; his were beginning to feel a bit too tight.

"Hey Nor, why is it so quiet up there?" Dann's obnoxious voice wafted in from the stairway. Norge growled and Mooie giggled.

"Don't you have other things to do rather than stay at home all day?" Norge shot back rather irritated as he pushed Mooie's pants down to her ankles (she had discarded her blouse and bra). He worked his hand under her panties and played around with her clit as he lowered himself to suck on her breast. A shattered gasp tore from Mooie's throat as he did.

"Wow Nor, who knew you had it in you?" Dann was standing in the doorway of Norge's bedroom with a bemused smirk on his face. Mooie's face went bright red with embarrassment as Norge's face went red with rage.

"Don't you know the meaning of the word KNOCK?" he fumed. Dann just chuckled and slipped back out.

"Ye might want to lock yer door next time!" and he vanished. Norge took a deep breath before facing Mooie yet again.

"Sorry, he's an idiot." Mooie smiled and took Norge's face in her hands.

"Ja, I know. Continue." It wasn't a question and Norge didn't care. His fingers went back to pleasuring her nether regions as his mouth pleasured her breasts. It gave him much satisfaction when Mooie let loose on his hand. He smirked as he licked her essence off of his fingers rather slowly. "Norge," she panted. "Please, no more teasing, I –I need U. I need U now!" She bucked her hips against him to prove her point. Norge shook his head. Not yet. He removed his own shirt and lifted Mooie's hand to his chest. His heart was beating ferociously. Mooie spread her fingers on his chest and pressed the tips into his skin as she trailed them down his torso, sending shivers down his spine. She made quick work of his belt buckle and zipper and was now pushing his pants down with her feet. Norge groaned as he felt Mooie's small feet tease his manhood. Forget a hand-job, Mooie's feet were doing a wonderful job by themselves. After a while Norge was feeling the need for release, he grabbed Mooie's panties and, with one fell swoop, they were torn away. He then took hold of her legs and spread them gently, taking the time to admire her. She truly was beautiful and now she was about to become his. He pressed his bulge up against her womanhood and ground his hips with hers. A string of sweet gasps and moans followed suit as Mooie arched her back in pleasure. Mooie took his hand and began sucking on his fingers, her eyes glazed over with lust and want and… more importantly, love. When he felt that his fingers were wet enough, he slid them from her mouth and inserted one into her nether opening. He pumped his finger in and out of her a few times before he added a second finger. She was so wet and she was leaking even more as he continued to probe her insides.

She arched fiercely off the bed as her vision went white. She bucked against his fingers.

"Norge! Daar! Oh ja! Daar! Oh! Net fuck me al!" Norge looked down at the woman beneath him and he kissed her passionately as he hit her sweet spot again and again with his fingers. For the second time that day she released herself on his hand. With his clean hand, he lowered his boxers and freed his aching member, he then slicked it using Mooie's cum. Mooie's eyes grew wide; Norge was massive, even her late husband – though quite large himself – paled in comparison to Norge. She wasn't sure that he would fit. She watched as he lined himself up with her.

"Are you ready love?" He asked. Mooie nodded slowly. With a grunt, Norge thrust himself into her. Two more thrusts and he was fully sheathed into her tight recesses. He stayed there for a while so that she could get used to his length.

"Norge, UHN! Verplaatsen, alsjeblieft! Maak me een goed gevoel!" She cried as she writhed around in agonizing pleasure. Norge was only too happy to oblige. He pulled out so that he was only in at the head and he thrust back in. She wasn't a virgin but he still didn't want to be too rough. To him, Mooie was like a leaf. Beautiful and vibrant but, if he were too rough he would tear and break her. She was his little leaf and he wanted her to remain so.

"NORGE!" Mooie cried as she came for the third time. She clamped tightly around him as he thrust a few more times into her before spilling his seed within her. He pulled out of her and collapsed at her side. She rolled over onto him and gave him a loving kiss on the lips.

"Will U marry me Noorwegen?" Norge kissed her back.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking YOU that?" he asked as he reached into his bedside table to pull something out. He had bought it only four months of knowing her, though he didn't know if she reciprocated his feelings. Now that he was sure however, there was no sense in holding back. He opened the box to reveal a simple, yet elegant opal ring.

"Mooie, my precious little leaf, will you be my wife?" Mooie sat up on Norge's stomach and put her hands on her hips.

"Duh!"


	16. 13 Right Left Up Down Here and There

Chapter 13

Right Left Up Down Here and There

She was sitting in the shade of a large elm reading a book. The day was a nice one; a soft breeze rustled the branches and swirled her hair, the air was warm rendering the need for shoes to be no more and, most importantly, it was quiet. There was nothing that she enjoyed more than peace and quiet. Her toes dug little holes in the mud and she felt a bird nest in her golden tangles. The bird on her head was singing a springtime melody as she decided to close the book and stretch her legs. She reached her hand up to the top of her head and the bird hopped onto a finger. She brought the robin level to her face.

"Little bird," she said sweetly. "Why do you make your nest in my hair?" The bird just gave a musical tweet and flew back to his perch and preened his feathers in her flyaway hair. She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the park with the robin still perched on her head. She looked around, she knew there was a coffee shop somewhere near by the park that everyone else ventured to.

Turning the corner she had enough time to duck before a sneaker went whizzing past her ear.

"Damn you Sadiq, you heartless bastard!" she heard the shrill voice of a female shout in rage. "Here I am trying to help you out with your fucked up love maze and all I hear from you is 'bitch, bitch, bitch, complain, complain, complain.' Rozwijaj się kurwa idioto!" A second shoe went flying, this time nabbing the tall man squarely on the bridge of his nose. The girl took off running before the man re-gathered his bearings.

"Eğer çekilmez Lehçe çakal! burada, şimdi geri alın!" The man rubbed his nose and turned to our innocent bystander. "Never befriend a Pole," he snarled before running after the "Polish weasel." Vanille just stood there with a confused look on her face.

"What was that little bird?" she asked. "Do you know?" the robin tweeted that he did not. Vanille kept walking she would find the coffee shop sooner or later.

She huffed indignantly and banged into something – it was a wall. She huffed again and marched along the sidewalk. As a friend, it was her duty to try and help but if that friend was Turkish, help was a foreign concept. As a Pole, it was her job to make her Turkish friend suffer and vice versa. However, she didn't like seeing so many broken hearts in a love maze of two dumb-asses and two pushovers. She kicked a stray soda can and sent it flying. Someone nearby cursed. She recognized the voice. Turning to where she heard the voice, she groaned, of course.

"Feliks, love, that really hurt." She grouched as she walked over to her boyfriend.

"Toris," she said. "You don't have to deal with a dumbass Turk! Honestly! The whole fucking four of 'em should just get together over tea and cake and work out their issues that way! I mean, the outcome is obvious, Hera and Gupta and Sadiq is already with Kiku so, no surprise there but STILL! Heracles is still in denial that he likes Gupta and is deluding himself in believing that he still loves Sadiq, in the mean time, Kiku STILL isn't getting any because of his boyfriend's thickheaded-ness and Gupta! Lets not forget about him. He's been accepted, rejected and had a tiger dumped on him! How in the name of the Holy Roman Empire is that fair?" Feliks was shouting and breathing heavily. Toris was only too grateful that she didn't have scissors on hand; otherwise he and a few other innocent people wouldn't live to see the next day. Toris put his arm around Feliks' shoulders and pulled her closer to him and, before she could say anything, he kissed her. It was brief but effective; it shut her up. Feliks pulled away slowly.

"Toris, let's fly away from here. I need at least a few months far from Sadiq and his pissy attitude. Let's fly to Poland." Toris fell off the bench due to the weight of that statement. His girlfriend was wonderful and all but she had about as many issues as Elizaveta! He took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"I have an even better idea."

She lay sprawled across her bed as she gazed up at the ceiling. She was beginning to get tired but, for some strange reason, sleep seemed to be avoiding her. She wanted to roll over onto her stomach but her unborn child seemed to be against it… then;

"EDUARD! MY WATER BROKE!" In an instant Eduard, his mother, sisters and brother came rushing into the bedroom. Elizaveta listened as Eduard spoke to his family in rapid Estonian. Annika and Miiko rushed out of the room to call the doctor's office. Eduard, Vivika and their mother helped Elizaveta downstairs and into Miiko's van. A few short minutes later, Miiko and Annika had rejoined the party and Miiko drove off to the Hospital. All the while Elizaveta was trying her best to remain calm and work on evening her breath. Eduard sat in next to her, rubbing her back for comfort. Elizaveta started crying. Eduard placed his wife's head on his chest and stroked her hair.

"Ed," she said. "If I don't make it through this, will you name the child Aldrik?" Eduard looked down at Elizaveta's head. "And will you also take really good care of Daina and Aldrik? I don't want to think that they might be mistreated." Eduard continued stroking Elizaveta's hair.

"Don't worry love, I will do everything in my power to take care of our children, but nothing will happen to you. I have faith in that, you are strong and feisty and loving and caring and more than anything, someone up there doesn't want you to die yet. So, I don't think that you will die. But if that does happen, and I'm not saying it will, I will take care of Daina and Aldrich and I will have a little alter for you in the kitchen so that you are always remembered. Lele," he said calling her by her nickname. "Nothing will happen to you, I promise you that." Elizaveta cried all the way to the hospital. Her nerves were about to shatter.

In the hospital, Elizaveta was in a whole world of pain. Her lower back was giving her problems, her head hurt and she seriously felt as though she needed to pee. She thrashed around on the bed that she had been laid on in order to get comortable but to no avail. Eduard told Elizaveta to stay still and to take deep calming breaths. He told his mother and older sister to hold her hands so that she couldn't squirm around. When the doctor came in to help deliver the baby, Elizaveta was screaming. The last thing she heard was an infant's endless wail before she lost consciousness.

She hadn't woken up since the baby was delivered. Eduard was in a panic; his mother, sisters and brother were trying to comfort him and tell him that everything would be alright. Eduard heard none of this and kept pacing the room. Miiko held Daina in his arms because his brother was worrying about nothing. The doctor had said that Elizaveta had lost more blood than usual when delivering her son, but her life wasn't in any danger. She would wake up when she woke up. Eduard remembered the last time Elizaveta had been admitted into the hospital, she had tried to kill herself: this time she might die without trying. He went over to her bedside and gripped her hand in his. He sighed a sigh of relief at the pleasant warmth that came from it.

"Lele, please, wake up soon." He whispered to her as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. "We have a beautiful baby boy. I told the doctor that you wished for him to be named Aldrik. The doctor has him right now. He will bring him when you wake up." Eduard sighed. He would give anything for his wife to wake up soon. He felt tension around his hand and realized that Elizaveta had unconsciously squeezed it… or maybe not. He watched as Elizaveta opened her eyes. She struggled to sit up and squeezed his hand even harder.

"Eduard," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want to see our son. I want to see Aldrik." Eduard smiled and squeezed his wife's hand.

"Vivika went to get the doctor, he should be in soon." Soon was an understatement. As soon as the words had left Eduard's mouth, the doctor appeared with Aldrik in his arms. Elizaveta smiled as she reached out for her son; that cute adorable face wrapped in a baby blanket. Elizaveta looked into her son's eyes as he looked at her questioningly.

"Üdvözöljük a világba, Aldrik."

He sat outside on his porch; waiting for something or someone. He couldn't be too hopeful though. Last time they had met, things had ended badly, very badly. Although he was sure that the other was just confused and or in denial, he couldn't help but think, 'what if'. He heard a scratching sound along the stone walkway. In some ways, he was glad that Sadiq had dumped Seth at his place. Seth was really good at noticing when people needed to be comforted. The gentle beast walked up onto the porch and pounced on Gupta. Gupta stared at the giant kitten. Seth was never known to have a temper but now, now it seemed as though Seth wanted to bite Gupta's head off. Instead he opted for biting the Egyptian's shoulder. Seth placed a giant paw on Gupta's chest a roared… right in Gupta's face. (Ew, tiger breath!) Gupta grimaced as he realized what Seth was trying to say.

'Stop moping and DO something!' Gupta was really glad that Seth understood human emotions. He smiled at the massive feline that was crushing his rib cage, and scratched him behind his ears.

"Alright," he grunted. "I'll go talk to my thickheaded cousin and Heracles. But don't blame me if it all goes down the toilet." Seth purred and got off of Gupta. Gupta stood up and dusted himself off. Time for the most painful experience of his life.

They sat in the café. The silence was overbearing and the youngest was beginning to get fidgety. Gupta was the first to speak.

"I called you two to meet with me because Seth told me to do something about this mess." Sadiq laughed.

"Ye took advice from a feline? That's rich!" Heracles smacked Sadiq upside the head.

"As I was saying," Gupta continued. "Heracles and Sadiq, you two are the most stubborn men I have ever met. Now, I know that Sadiq was your first love, Hera and Sadiq, I know that you have Kiku and think of Hera as a cute little brother." Both men nodded curiously. Where was Gupta going with this? "Hera, you know that I have been in love with you since the minute I met you." Heracles glanced at Sadiq and blushed as he nodded. Sadiq's mouth fell to the floor as peel of laughter escaped his throat.

"I wondered why ye stayed behind after Lizzie's initiation party!" Hera gave Sadiq another smack. Sadiq put on a face of mock hurt and cradled his assaulted cranium. Gupta continued talking.

"Hera, you are a good actor thus making it easy for you to hide your true emotions but, you are terrible at lying to yourself. When I kissed you after I had dropped Isis off at your house, you blew up at me. For whatever reason, you faltered and tried to rephrase what you had said without success. Sadiq, I suggest you stay awake for this." The Turk had begun to nod off. He sat up straight and looked around.

"I wasn' sleepin'!" Gupta chuckled.

"No, you were about to. Now, stay awake." Heracles cleared his throat and glued his eyes to the floor.

"Gupta," he said softly. The cousins turned their attention to the young Greek. "You're right. I did falter after I blew up at you for kissing me. I said that all we were and all that we ever would be is friends. I faltered because those words felt wrong; I don't know why they did but, they just did." Sadiq's mouth fell open again but this time no laughter came out. Gupta placed a hand on Heracles' shoulder and nodded for him to continue. "I thought about it for a while and during that while, Sadiq came and spoke to me. I got mad at him and I slapped him. After that, I realized that I no longer held any feelings for Sadiq." Sadiq let out a joyous shout and tossed his arms in the air. Hera didn't smack him this time. Instead he turned to face his first love and said;

"Sadiq, you were right. You are an ass and I CAN do WAY better than you." At that Sadiq stood up with a broad smile spread across his face.

"Well, now that that is all cleared up, I have a boyfriend to tend to. Buh-bye!" Heracles and Gupta rolled their eyes as Sadiq practically pranced out of the coffee shop.

The music was loud and festive. Everyone gathered was either dancing, eating, or drinking (or, in the case of the children, barfing on carnival rides). She and her partner were dancing to a very upbeat song. Who knew indulging in Oktoberfest would be this much fun? She dragged her date away so that they could get some air.

Toris knew that what Feliks needed was entertainment and loud noise to help her get her spirits back up. He was thankful to Ludwig for inviting them to join him and Feliciano to Oktoberfest. After three kegs of beer and countless potatoes and Bratwurst, Feliks was not only drunk, but back to normal as well.

She stared up at him and took him by the wrist.

"Toris, let's head home. I want to go home, home to Poland." Toris looked at her confused. "It's not Sadiq, I'm just feeling a little homesick is all." The beer must have worn off because Feliks sounded completely sober. Toris took his girlfriend's hand in his and walked her to his car – actually, it was Natalia's. He drove Feliks to her apartment and opened the door to let her out but she stayed put. Her eyes were closed but Toris could see a thin trail of tears slide down her cheek. He knelt in front of her and cupped her face in his hands. She opened her eyes and wiped the tears from them.

"If it means that much to you, you can go home to Poland. Your parents still live there right?" Feliks nodded and took Toris' hands off of her face.

"My mother, father, and younger brother." She said. "Toris, come with me. Meet my family." Toris remained silent. Go to Poland? Meet her parents? He didn't even know how to speak Polish! Feliks pushed passed him as she stepped out of the car. "Why am I surrounded by idiotic men?" She screeched. Toris caught her wrist before she stormed off into her apartment.

"I don't know how to speak Polish." He said sheepishly. Feliks' face went from PO'ed to ecstatic. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed his face so many times Toris feared that it was totally covered in lipstick.

"That's why you were silent? Don't worry! From now on, I will not let you speak in any language that you might know and I will only speak to you in Polish! In one month, you should be fine!" With that, she dragged him into her apartment and started yammering at him in rapid fire Polish. What had Toris gotten himself into?

She walked barefoot through the park and found the tree where she had met that nice man. What had he said his name was again? Vache? She giggled. If that was indeed his name than she felt truly sorry for him. The robin that had roosted in her hair a few weeks later had stayed with her and was nesting in her dirty blonde tangles yet again. She smiled and began laying out the picknick that she had packed for herself and the bird. A bowl of bird-seed for the bird and cheese and crackers with some white wine for herself.

She sat there for about three hours happily chatting with the robin on her head and fed him a few crumbs from her crackers.

"Little Robin," she said sweetly. "Do you think that Monsieur Vache will come again today." The bird tweeted his reply. Vanille giggled and dug her toes into the grass. "But I didn't pack enough for him as well." She sat in silent thought for a while before she started to whistle. The robin on her head began to sing along. Neither one knew that the girl had been spotted by the one that she had been inquiring about.

Mr. Vash Svizzera had been walking by himself when he heard the sound of whistling and bird-song. It was a sweet melody and he went to investigate. It was Francis's relative and a robin perched in the young girl's hair. He walked up to them and waited until they had finished their song. He clapped his approval. Both the girl and the little winged creature were startled.

"That was lovely, Miss Vanille." The girl blushed and up rooted a few blades of grass with her toes.

"Merci, Monsieur Vache." She said quite timidly. Vash gagged. He hadn't been called 'Vache' since he had left university. If it were any other person, he would have shot at them with the rifle strapped to his leg.

"Mademoiselle," he said calmly. "Je m'appelle Vash. Not Vache. I'm not a cow." Vanille giggled. She hooked her arm through Vash's and the headed off at a steady pace.

"Vanille, quel âge avez-vous?" Vanille giggled and began to braid her hair.

"Moi? J'ai seize ans. Je suis ici sur un programme de change." Vash felt his stomach hit the grass. She was still in high school! "Oui? Monsieur Vash, quel âge avez-vous?"

"Too old." He replied. Vanille stopped walking; the tug on his arm made Vash stop as well. Vanille gave him a look that said 'answer me or else!' Vash gulped. "J'ai trente ans." Vanille looked at him disbelievingly as they continued walking. She stopped just short of the soft drinks vendor. She smiled at Vash and took both his hands in hers and gazed into his sharp green eyes.

"Monsieur Vash," she said. "I know that this is only the second time that we have met but, I want to get to know you some more. Will you wait for me until I have graduated from high school?" She stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his cheek. Vash removed his hands from hers and walked over to the nearest bench and sat down.

"Vanille, you are saying this now because you are young and you don't really understand your emotions. I am fourteen years older than you are, that is a rather large age gap, don't you think?" Vanille shook her head vehemently.

"Non! Maybe I don't really understand my emotions, but that's why I asked you to wait for me!" She took a deep breath and reclaimed Vash's hands. "S'il vous plaît, monsieur Vash, attendez-moi!"


End file.
